


Hide From Us

by white_silence



Category: Free!, Tokyo Ghoul
Genre: Angst, F/M, Gore, M/M, Pain, Violence, accidental TG AU, an unfortunate amount of haikyuu characters are here now, anyway, artist!haru, baristas!rin and rei, boyfriends being boyfriends, ccg!sousuke and makoto, changed the reigisa tag bc that probs won't end up being a romantic thing, coffee shop AU, college boys, ghoulnerd!nagisa has become ghoulresearcher!nagisa, oh well, probably mentions of kaneki/haise somewhere, rest assured they get together in the period after the story ends, should not have happened, the makoto part is later, there's not really that much swimming, what the fuck do i tag this as
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-14
Updated: 2017-12-31
Packaged: 2018-04-20 17:17:28
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 30
Words: 53,263
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4795775
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/white_silence/pseuds/white_silence
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Though Tokyo was plagued by ghouls, Haru never paid it much attention. Nagisa was obsessed with them, Makoto was scared of them, and, well, Rin and Rei were ghouls.</p><p>When the artist stumbles into a coffee shop where monsters work, he gets entranced by the cheery barista and ends up a bit more involved with them than expected.</p><p>This may or may not be a problem.</p><p>WE'RE BACK IN BUSINESS!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> So... haha... ha.
> 
> Hi! This isn't my first fic (I have others ongoing), but it's my first Free/RinHaru fic, and I hope I do well! This was inspired by the infamous tomakehimfree and her anons, and got... out of control. Really fast.
> 
> I don't know what to say other than there's a lot of violence, no romantic MH at all, and that I'm pure trash.
> 
> Well, call me Blizzard, and please enjoy whatever this is!
> 
> ~Thanks to tomakehimfree, Heichous_Poncho, and Nameless_Thunderhead for their encouragement!~

It was rather unusual for a ghoul to be terrified and fleeing. This ghoul, however, had made a mistake.

He skittered through the ward in terror, checking over his shoulder every few seconds. His ukaku wings were blocking his view, but he didn’t dare retract the kagune. If he had to fight, the time it would take to bring them out again would be too much.

The ones after him were too powerful, too fast.

The next time he faced forward, all he saw was a flash of red. Then he was bodily hurled into the alley wall. His head smacked against brick, and he slid down the wall’s surface, spots obscuring his vision.

“Oi, where did you think you were going, flea?” A voice mocked as he groaned in pain.

The ghoul cowered, peering up at the figure of a red haired boy. A rinkaku kagune was lashing behind him, deep red tendrils tapering off into sharp points. One of the points was dripping blood onto the asphalt, steadily staining the blacktop. The boy’s black battlesuit was spattered with drying blood too, but he didn’t seem to mind. He whimpered, fear filled gaze trained on the boy’s black mask, which was painted with pointed white shark teeth. Eerie red and black kakugan watched him from under it, filled with mirth.

He wished he’d been smarter. He wished he’d paid attention to who’s feeding ground he’d wandered into. Having the Shark after him was a nightmare.

The thud of someone else dropping into the alley reminded him that it hadn’t been just the Shark he’d angered.

The boy struggled to hold back tears as he shakily turned his head.

The new arrival had blue-black hair and a purple and red ukaku stretching out from his back. A lavender butterfly mask was fitted over his face, its beauty hiding the danger underneath. Raising his head, the other boy awarded his prey a calculating stare, a smile spreading over his face.

“Isn’t being a ghoul beautiful?” he cooed, stalking forward. Blood was smeared across his face.

The scared ghoul shook his head and tried to flee in the opposite direction, but the Butterfly crystallized one of his wings and fired a barrage of sharp shards at his back. The Shark let out a little laugh, exposing his jagged teeth, as the injured boy crashed to the ground. His ukaku was shredded from the crystals now buried in his back; he couldn’t even try to defend himself now.

The Shark curled a rinkaku tentacle around him and slammed him into the wall again before flinging him past the Butterfly. He crumpled to the cold ground, blood pooling around him.

The stars looked pretty.

The Shark impaled a tendril in his stomach and twisted it, heedless of his pained pleas. “You shouldn’t have played with _our_ food, hm?”

“Well, you won’t now… never again.”

 

* * *

 

Nanase Haruka flicked through the channels absentmindedly, trying to find a movie to watch. It wasn’t often he had his two friends over, and he wanted to make it a decent night for them. He was probably just going to draw throughout the entire movie, but if Nagisa and Makoto were sufficiently entertained, that would suit him.

“Haru-chan, stop, stop, stop!” Hazuki Nagisa practically shrieked, near leaping over the couch to stop the blue eyed boy from changing the channel again. Startled, Haru dropped his remote and watched Nagisa bounce around. The blond was always this excitable, so it wasn’t surprising. Haru was sure his ears were ringing from the volume of the other boy’s screech though.

“What is it?” Their other friend, Tachibana Makoto, asked. He squinted at the screen searchingly, unable to tell what was going on because the scene was so dark.

Haru figured out it was the news fairly quickly, but it took reading the headline and seeing the gory scene to figure out why Nagisa was so excited.

Apparently, there had been ghoul attacks in the area.

Makoto instantly cowered. “Nagisa, why do you want to watch stuff like that?!”

“Because ghouls are cool!” Nagisa replied instantly, heedless of Makoto’s fear. “Seriously, they’re so interesting!”

Haru rolled his eyes at Nagisa’s exuberance. Why the boy was so passionate about ghouls, he would never know; however, he’d rather not give Makoto mental anguish by feeding Nagisa’s near obsession. He stooped to pick up the remote.

Before he could change the channel, he caught the end of what the reporter was saying.

“…most likely, the attack was the work of SS Class Shark and Butterfly, some of the most dangerous ghouls in Tokyo.”

The dark haired boy changed the channel with a final click, ignoring Nagisa’s whine. It wasn’t like he needed to know anymore, and Makoto was literally whimpering.

These ghouls wouldn’t affect them, anyway.


	2. Chapter 1- Ambience

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Look, I return! With more trash!
> 
> I just wanna say THANK YOU- not only for 42 kudos (that's more than ever before!), but for all your enthusiastic comments. I wasn't prepared for your reaction, but it was definitely not unwelcome.
> 
> Anyway, this is unbeta'd and possibly ridiculous/shitty (in my eyes, it is. romance is a ?? ??? for me), but I hope you like it!

“Thank you; come again!” The boy called, gazing at the backs of the people exiting the coffee shop. The shark sign on the door swung from the nail it was hanging on as the door drifted shut; the morning light filtering in illuminated the sign’s “Samezuka Café” inscription. The employee squinted, turning away from the light and rubbing his irritated eyes.

Matsuoka Rin was tired. It was something he couldn’t sleep away; it was general dissatisfaction with his life. This dissatisfaction wasn’t uncommon among ghouls; after all, it wasn’t like they could live normally in this kind of world. In him though, it was especially prevalent.

When he wasn’t fighting or swimming, he was incredibly exhausted, withdrawn, and irritable. The redhead could barely muster the fake enthusiasm needed to deal with his customers. This job was mundane- safe, the others called it. But god, was he tired.

Luckily for him, his younger coworker, Ryugazaki Rei, had figured out he wasn’t in a decent enough mood to put up with the flood of humans who wanted coffee and snacks. The violet eyed boy had gently pushed him toward making the drinks while he manned the register. Now Rin was watching the blender turn ice and coffee into an actual frappe, glancing over his shoulder now and then to observe the shop’s occupants.

Rin’s little sister, Gou, was exuberantly flitting about giving people their orders. At least her enthusiasm wasn’t a façade; for a ghoul, she did her best to enjoy life. Rin ground his teeth when he noticed she’d paused to talk to the ginger human brothers who fawned over her. The only reason he accepted the younger Mikoshiba, the ignorant Momo, being near her was because he had a massive crush on Nitori Aiichirou, the fidgety sculptor that he didn’t know was a ghoul. Seijirou, though… he was more of a problem, and not just because he liked Gou and Rin didn’t want his baby sister dating.

The elder human was a CCG inspector, and Gou really wasn’t being smart associating with him. After all, no ghoul should ever get too close to someone who could ruin their life, or worse, extinguish it entirely.

The ruby eyed boy rubbed his eyes again, groaning softly. Boredom dragged him down even further than exhaustion, and hunger started to gnaw at his stomach. He’d been rudely interrupted while feeding yesterday, and his fight had taken more out of him than he’d admit. Gou would probably drag him out to feed today, since their little shop and its ghouls now indisputably ruled the ward.

Rei tapped his shoulder out of the blue, startling him into dropping a bottle of chocolate sauce. Rin had a second of momentary panic, instincts telling him to fight and kill, before he realized all the bespectacled cashier wanted to do was hand him a cup of black coffee. The blue haired boy guided him toward the only empty table and told him to sit down.

“Take a break, Matsuoka-senpai.” Rei commanded firmly, returning to the register with a sigh. He pushed his red glasses up the bridge of his nose, looking mildly inconvenienced as usual.

Rin peered into his cup of coffee, inhaling the fragrant steam and humming. The café was still bustling, although there were a few more free tables and a shorter line now. He felt himself relax in the ambience; this café, the one his dad had started years ago, was his home. It was the home of all the “good” ghouls in the ward. Rin’s eyes drifted shut; he might call it boring, but he did love Samezuka.

The boy wasn’t going to startle awake and turn around when the door’s bell rang again, but something told him to.

He spotted two human boys walking into the shop, one much shorter than the other. The smaller boy, a blond, bounded up to Rei and rattled off a custom frappe order by heart; the speed and clarity of his delivery made Rei’s eyes widen imperceptibly.

Without really thinking about it, Rin turned his focus to the blond’s blue eyed companion, who held a sketchpad in his pale hands and looked immensely out of place.

But he was _beautiful_.

Rin had never been more grateful for his enhanced senses; they allowed him to see all the tiny details of this pretty boy- his azure eyes, glossy dark hair, the sweep of his eyelashes, the curve of his small mouth. Rin had to commit all of it to memory right there, entranced as he was by the slightly awkward artist.

The blond broke the spell when he grabbed his black haired friend’s arm; his whipped cream topped frappe was held securely in hand as he rushed forward. He paused in the door’s entryway, deep pink eyes wide, as he cheerfully told Rei goodbye.

Rin blinked and turned back to his coffee as they left, surprisingly awed and…

_…interested._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please tell me what you thought?
> 
> Bye now (it's late and I'm dying), and thanks again!


	3. Chapter 2- Troublesome

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, hello! I have returned! (Slightly) longer chappie this time too!
> 
> THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ALL THE KUDOS AND COMMENTS! I LOVE YOU GUYS!
> 
> I am blown away by your kindness. I hope you continue to enjoy!

Haru dragged his feet on the way to his apartment, sketchbook still held securely in his hands and bag slung over his shoulder. He was tired from sitting through classes, tired from Nagisa dragging him around, and overall desperate for sleep.

He stumbled up the flights of stairs and to his door, fumbling with his key before managing to unlock it. Upon entering his empty apartment, he went to the couch and flopped down, sighing. His bag fell to the floor, but he kept a hold on his sketchbook.

The blue eyed boy sighed and stared at the ceiling. Today had been another in a line of many when someone pestered him about what he was going to do when he was older.

 **You’re good at swimming.** They said. **Do you want to join the Olympic team?**

**You can cook really well; why not be a chef?**

**Those drawings are amazing! You should be an artist**.

Haru huffed in irritation at the memories. Why didn’t people understand that he didn’t want to make any of his hobbies a career? He just wanted to be free, not ruin what he loved by doing it “professionally”.

_Wouldn’t going pro or being famous ruin the point? Isn’t better to stay like this?_

_Isn’t it okay if I stay like this?_

It wasn’t. Haru knew he wasn’t; after all, both his friends had dreams they were working toward. Makoto was going to be a fireman or possibly some other law enforcement officer. Nagisa had wanted to be an astronaut, but when told he likely couldn’t, he went into ghoul research and aimed to be a CCG scientist. Making Quinques was supposed to be tricky, but Nagisa had so many notes and ideas, Haru couldn’t doubt he’d do well.

Haru remained the only one out of both his friend group and his classmates that didn’t know what to do with his life. Luckily, his parents hadn’t caught wind of it- if they knew, they’d be nagging him from across the world. They didn’t have a right to, considering they didn’t raise him and were never around, but he could sense they’d “fret” anyway.

Having successfully annoyed himself to the point where sleep eluded him, Haru sat up and opened his sketchbook. He rooted around in his bag to find a pencil, staring at the blank paper and deciding to just let him mind wander while doodling. If he tried a more intricate piece now, he’d frustrate himself even more.

The black haired student put his pencil to the paper and began.

When he focused on the paper again, he realized he’d sketched the café Nagisa pulled him into earlier. Since the drawing had turned out being from a first person perspective, the bubbly blond himself was the closest figure. Behind the rose eyed boy and the spotless counter stood the bespectacled barista; he seemed slightly exasperated. (Haru had the feeling he always looked like that).

The rest of the figures were very messy, mostly because Haru couldn’t remember everyone. He picked out the pretty redheaded waitress, who was smiling at a table of two while fiddling with her apron. A few tables away was the other clear face.

It was a boy wearing the Samezuka café uniform, and for some reason, Haru had drawn him looking right where the drawn version of him should be. The details weren’t refined, because Haru hadn’t been close enough to see, but the slightly curious expression was evident.

The artist paused.

_Who was… who is he?_

* * *

 

 

Rei furtively made his way down the street, hoping no one was paying close attention to him. No human was around to question what was in the little bag he carried, which relieved him a bit, but there were sharp eyed ghouls wandering around all through the ward.

He ducked into an unassuming bar, nodding at the bouncer and letting him peer inside the bag in place of identification, then slipped through the crowds of inebriated people. Rei arrived at a door after hurrying down the stairs in the back distractedly, and he pried it open.

The blue haired boy adjusted his glasses and passed through the doorway, entering the little shop filled with generic masks. The vaguely creepy faces weren’t too startling, but what Rei noticed in the back of the shop was.

His face flared as he watched.

The redheaded boy who Rin often threw out of the shop for hitting on Gou had Nitori pinned to the wall, and they were making out. Furiously. The sculptor broke away, whimpering “Momo…”, and that was when he noticed the beet red Rei, still frozen at the entrance. The small ghoul yelped and shoved Momo away, looking incredibly embarrassed. The human turned around and paused, eyes wide. He let go of Nitori and quickly stepped away so Nitori could detach himself from the wall.

“It’s not what it looks like!” Nitori stammered frantically. He wiped his mouth and struggled to find something else to say. “We were just-“

“Nitori, don’t lie; that was exactly what it looked like.” Momo grumbled. “You couldn’t have waited like, 25 minutes? Really?” He snapped at Rei.

“Sorry…” Rei muttered nervously. “It was a bit of an urgent matter. In fact, it’s business.”

Nitori instantly straightened and went to the table laden with his supplies. “What happened to it?”

“‘It?’” Momo asked in confusion. His question was answered when Rei gave Nitori the bag, and the sculptor pulled out the contents. He’d quickly judged that the human was rather ignorant (and he was sure he’d heard his senpai say the same), so he had no qualms about giving the silver haired boy his Butterfly mask in front of him.

It was broken in half.

“What did you do?!” Nitori cried. “Ah, whatever- you’re lucky it was a clean break. I should be able to salvage it, but you better be careful, or I’ll need to make a new one!”

Rei shifted, worrying his lip between his teeth. He couldn’t tell the truth here.

_Chasing that idiotic koukaku was tiring, but she had dared encroach on their territory. Even a pacifist like Rei had his limits. Adrenaline was pushing her to run faster, and he followed, gritting his teeth._

_Finally, he cornered the terrified koukaku and slammed her into the wall, cracking the concrete with the force of his blow. In desperation, she whipped her kagune’s blade around and smacked him in the face. His mask cracked, and a shallow cut opened on his cheek. Though it healed right away, the smeared blood remained._

_Rei snarled and tore her head from her body, stumbling backward. The mask fell apart in his hands when he took it off to check on it, ignoring the blood staining his fingers._

_The Butterfly groaned and made a mental note to talk to Nitori later._

“I dropped it.” Rei lied casually. “I used it for a Halloween party a year ago, and when I found it again, I ended up breaking it. I thought Nitori could fix it, since he made it for me.”

Momo nodded in understanding, and Rei relaxed. _I dodged a Q Bullet there._

_Dealing with humans is so troublesome._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you liked it! Next chappie will have some Gou and Mako!


	4. Chapter 3- Entangled

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guess who's back? It's me! This chappie's decently long, for me, anyway. Also, Gou makes an appearance (sadly, Makoto does not... but we get Reigisa???), so I was happy af to write this.
> 
> THANK YOU FOR 80 KUDOS AND ALL YOUR KIND WORDS! I love you guys!

Nagisa skipped out of the little bookstore with a smile on his face. It was rare he found so many interesting ghoul books in one trip to the store, so he was incredibly pleased.

 _Mmm, Mako-chan said his job was today, so I can’t talk to him about it. And Haru-chan got super mad before, so I won’t bug him._ The blond mused. _I’ll tell them tomorrow._ He decided to return to Samezuka and get coffee while he read. It didn’t matter that 5:00 was later than normal for a coffee run; that blue haired guy at the café was the only one who could make his overly complicated frappe order perfectly. Also, no matter how hyper it made him or how much he spent on it, he loved coffee.

Nagisa, too caught up in his thoughts of delicious beverages and more research, ran straight into someone. Stumbling backward and dropping his book bag, he looked up in surprise, apology halfway out of his mouth.

Nagisa ended up pausing in surprise, because who should be in front of him but the blue haired barista himself? He wasn’t paying attention at all, instead screeching into his phone, “WELL, SUPER GLUE IS A BETTER FIX THAN THE HALF ASSED DUCT TAPE JOB I DID BEFORE! DUCT TAPE, NITORI, DUCT TAPE IN A DARK ALLEY.” before angrily yanking it away from his ear and pressing the “end call” button. Only upon ending the call did he notice Nagisa, still flat on his ass on the sidewalk.

“Oh, oh dear, did I knock you over? Sorry!” he said frantically, helping Nagisa up. The blond quickly snatched up his book bag, only to see that the penguin charm previously attached to the bag’s front was broken. The blond gasped in horror and scooped the little penguin from the ground, which was nearly shattered.

If possible, the barista was even more frantic. Nagisa didn’t hear half his apologies, his shock turning to anger as he looked at the little pieces in his palm. Haru-chan had bought him that penguin, and even if it had only been to shut him up when he was younger and had less self restraint then now, it had been important to him.

When the barista finally stopped tripping over himself in regret, Nagisa quietly muttered, “Haru-chan gave me that a really long time ago. I don’t want him to be mad it broke… I have to go get another one!” He pointedly jabbed the blue haired boy’s chest with his index finger, righteously angry. “You’re gonna come with me to get one!”

“I have work…” he weakly protested as Nagisa dragged him off. Luckily, the blond was sure that there was a shop selling cutesy things a little ways away.

“I don’t care about your work; you’re gonna buy me a penguin!” He said angrily. “It’s the least you can do for running into me anyway!”

“Technically, you ran into me!” The other corrected defensively, trying to shake Nagisa off him as the smaller boy continued muttering angrily.

“You were the one on your phone, not paying attention! If you can say sorry, you can try to fix this, barista-chan!”

The bespectacled boy yanked his arm away with surprising strength, screeching indignantly. “My name is Ryuugazaki Rei, not barista-chan! And where are you taking me? My coworker is going to be rather displeased if I’m late!”

“Well, Rei-chan, I’m going to be rather displeased if I don’t get another penguin charm!” Nagisa snapped. He was well aware he was being an unreasonable little shit right now, but he liked that penguin charm! Haru and Makoto had a dolphin and an orca one, respectively, to match. He absolutely needed another one-

Wait. If he pissed off this café worker, it might compromise his cupcake frappe order. He’d never taste that perfection again.

“Okay, you know what? Just go! But give me like, 2000 yen.” The rose eyed boy sniffed. “That should be enough, and if it’s not, I’ll ask for more when I come back to Samezuka.”

Rei gaped, flushing in irritation, but he obediently got the money out of his wallet and handed to the blond. “Please refrain from bothering me again…”

Before he could respond, Nagisa was interrupted by a crash and a high pitched screech of rage. Had he not been so intently focused on the money in his hands, he would’ve seen Rei stiffen and murmur someone’s name. But as quickly as the sounds came, they passed. The shorter boy turned to his companion and responded to his previous statement.

“Oh, I’ll try real hard to keep it to a minimum, Rei-chan. By the way, I’m Hazuki Nagisa, so you can stop putting ridiculous nicknames on my cup. Thank you~” He chirped, skipping off and leaving Rei dumbstruck behind him.

_Well, that was an interesting encounter, even if it pissed me off. But at least I know his name… and that he’s cute when he’s all panicky. Time to get a penguin and then read all these books!_

 

* * *

 

**Two Minutes Earlier…**

Gou really just wanted to get back to Samezuka and start her shift. However, some people were making it rather… difficult.

The ghoul snarled and leapt back, avoiding the strike of the other koukaku’s blade. It plowed into the asphalt in front of her and blessedly got stuck. The ponytailed girl uncoiled her kagune and lashed out, cutting the opposing ghoul in two at the waist and dancing out of the way as ukaku crystals rained down from above.

Leaping over the dumpster they’d knocked over earlier, Gou tried to use her wide, ribbon like kagune as a shield. Although it protected her to an extent, some of the black haired man’s projectiles struck her. She hissed in irritation as her clothes were shredded. Stumbling backward and ripping a few blades out of her body, Gou crouched defensively. The ukaku was faster than her, sure, but she’d fought the Butterfly himself before, and this wasn’t nearly as difficult.

When he sped forward, thinking she was too injured to fight, the redhead plunged her koukaku kagune into the ground, materializing more RC Cells to lengthen it as she did. The second the crazed ukaku was in range, her kagune burst from the blacktop and wrapped around him, winding tight. The red koukaku crushed the ghoul in an instant, and as the light left her opponent’s eyes, Gou sang cheerily.

“They call my brother the Shark for his teeth, but did you know they call me Ribbon because I can do this? You’re like a little present now… all wrapped up and ready to die.”

Dropping the man and taking a few steps back, Gou withdrew her kagune. Her red and black eyes returned to their normal red and white, and she exhaled shakily. She was more injured than she’d thought; the crystal wounds were deep and still bleeding.

_I need to rest… and eat. Ooh, Nitori’s place is near here… I’ll go._

She rushed out of the alley and fled to the mask maker’s shop, placing a hand over the worst gashes in her leg. Moving hurt, and she gritted her teeth. Rin was gonna be so pissed when he found out.

When the redhead reached the bar, she quietly prayed that the sorry crowds in there this early would be too drunk to notice her. Gou shoved straight past the bouncer and scrambled to the stairs, making her way down them as quickly as she could with her injuries. She flung open the door very uncaringly and entered the shop…

…only to find Nitori sprawled over his table with his shirt off, and Momo leaning over him to nip at his chest.

Gou screamed in surprise, causing Momo and Nitori to look over at the door. The gray haired boy squealed in horror and flung himself over the table, wailing as he hid. Momo just tilted his head to the ceiling and half sobbed, “Why, God, why can’t I just fuck him? Stop testing me!”

“I’m sorry; I’ll just leave!” Gou stuttered, fumbling for the doorknob. “I’ll go to Samezuka, yeah, Samezuka…”

That was when Momo noticed she was bleeding, and Gou realized she had a whole other set of problems.

“Gou-chan! Who dared hurt you?” he yelped, looking so affronted it was ridiculous. The sculptor instantly re-emerged upon hearing that, this time with a shirt, and took in Gou’s tattered appearance. That caused even more of a panic, and Nitori leapt into action.

The redhead groaned and leaned against the wall, watching Nitori shove his apparent boyfriend out of the shop so he could run and get meat. She wasn’t going to live any of this down.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mmm, how was that? Next update might be a little later because I have to write for other stories... sorry. ;A;
> 
> Also, Momo, I'm sorry you can never get that ass.
> 
> Again, I love ya!


	5. Chapter 4, Part One- Irritance

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My god, this is so short. *cries and hides*
> 
> I'm really sorry! But I had to update with something because I missed last week... I'll try to update during the week. AND MAKOTO AND SOUSUKE WILL FINALLY SHOW UP!
> 
> Reason for... whatever this is... is that I was exhausted Saturday due to a debate tournament that ate me alive, so I couldn't write. I woke up that early for nothing, considering how badly we lost (I'm so useless at crossfire; it's honestly hilarious).
> 
> Anyway. Thank you for all the hits and almost 100 kudos! I love you!
> 
> Special shout-out to Chhiyuki, also known as AlishaV, for helping me out and giving me lots of headcanons. Happy belated birthday; part two of your present will be out soon!

Nagisa walked out of the little shop with a self satisfied smile on his face. He’d acquired a little penguin charm for only 1800 yen, and he felt much better about having it. Although Haru wouldn’t notice the difference between the broken trinket and its replacement (he probably didn’t even know the blond had kept the old charm), Nagisa felt guilty about the gift. At least there was something there.

Swinging his bag cheerfully, the boy skipped down the street. He still wanted coffee, and the added bonus of bugging Rei-chan was too good to pass up. Samezuka it was!

_But it would be kinda dumb to stay at a table alone… Mako-chan would totally come, but his job runs so late. I wonder why he hasn’t told us what it is, since it messes with our outings… anyway, Haru-chan should be less angry now, so I can try calling him. Shit, I hope he’s okay._

Nagisa fished his phone out of his pocket, bringing out a few gum wrappers with it, and tentatively dialed his friend’s number. Hopefully, Haru had drawn something and calmed down.

“Hello?” The blue eyed boy asked sleepily when the line connected.

The blond smiled in relief and began chattering happily. “Haru-chan! Can you come to Samezuka with me? You don’t have to, but I… don’t wanna be alone, and I pissed off the barista. Just a bit, though.” He finished sheepishly.

“I’ll be there.” Haru sighed heavily, making the phone line cloud with static. “Give me a few minutes.”

“Yay! Thank you!” Nagisa cheered, hitting the end call button and running the rest of the way to Samezuka in excitement.

* * *

 

Rin watched Rei skitter around as he made drinks, wondering why the blue haired ghoul was so frazzled. Sure, he was a nervous wreck at least 77% of the time, but he usually had his shit together… and a pale complexion. Ghouls didn’t get fevers, yet his face was red. At first Rin had thought it was because he was upset about being late, but his kohai’s nerves still seemed frayed. It was troubling.

The redhead rolled his eyes. Why he was so concerned, he didn’t know. Rei could work; it didn’t matter how weird he was being.

The cashier found out the reason for the younger boy’s demeanor when the blondie from earlier came barreling into the café and shrieked “REI-CHAN!” at the top of his lungs. Rin winced as the sound assaulted his enhanced ears, and “Rei-chan” himself violently started and dropped a container of cinnamon.

“Didn’t I tell you to refrain from bothering me?” The violet eyed boy whined, looking immensely harassed just by being in the small human’s presence. It was comical to Rin. Poor Rei.

“I distinctly remember saying I’d keep it to a minimum,” The blond cooed in response, looking like a cat that caught a canary. “And shouldn’t you be happy to see me? I’m a customer, and I have 200 yen for you.” He casually walked up to Rei, grabbed his hand, and dropped the money into his palm.

 _What the fuck?_ Rin screeched internally. The kid might be cute (and the friend of that pretty artist, his brain interjected), but he was already seemingly cunning. And he knew Rei’s name? He touched Rei? What was going on?

“Time the fuck out-” Rin snapped, getting between them as they began to bicker. He pointed at the human as he continued. “You, shut up and wait for Gou to get here so she can make that ridiculous frappe for you. And you,” he narrowed his eyes at Rei. “Come with me.” He dragged Rei into the back room without preamble, uncaring that the shop was now unstaffed.

“Rei. Explain: who is that brat, why did he give you money, and why does he know your name?”

“His name is Hazuki Nagisa. I bumped into him after getting my mask to Nitori and broke something of his, so I gave him money to buy a new one, and he’s still pestering me! Dealing with him was why I was late!” Rei bemoaned, angrily pushing up his glasses. “Beautiful, yet not! He gave me the leftover money just now, at least…”

“‘Beautiful, yet not’- what does that even mean? Okay, I don’t care. Just shoo him the fuck away if you need to. Kid’s smarter than he seems, and we don’t need prying.” The red eyed boy advised.

“God, he’s a mess.” Rin grumbled as he stepped out of the room and reentered the shop. Gou and Nitori had arrived with a very irritated Momo in tow, and Hazuki was at a table with his nose buried in a book.

“Rei-chan~” The small blond called as Rei emerged, not even looking up from his book. “You make these better, but how?”

“Oh fucking Christ, here we go…” probably summed up Rei’s thought process at that moment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again, I apologize for the shortness. Next update will be longer, and if all goes well, Rin and Haru will meet too!
> 
> ...I want to lie down and cry right now. Me @ HW: Why you always in my way? Why the fuck you in my way?


	6. Chapter 4, Part Two- Burgeoning

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! I am back! But really quick... I have something to tell you.
> 
> This fic is going on hiatus for NaNoWriMo. If you don't know what that is, it's a challenge of sorts, You try to write a 50k~ word novel in a month. It's gonna take up all my time for everything except the "novel" I'm writing.
> 
> However, I will come back! And I'm immensely grateful for all the kudos, hits, comments, and bookmarks. I love you all!

Tachibana Makoto would be described as a sweet, yet very anxious, easily scared boy by his friends. He wasn’t particularly courageous or anything- he was the type to bandage his friends’ wounds instead of fighting alongside them. In other words, Makoto was 90% sure the only word for him was “chicken”. He jumped at things that went bump in the night, and would rather not think of all the human murderers too.

The self-labeled chicken was currently at CCG headquarters with a few other “errand boys”, watching the famed Associate Special Class Mikoshiba Seijuro’s squad spar in front of them. The green eyed boy couldn’t help but stare in awe as SC Mikoshiba leapt backward, avoiding the strike of First Class Shigino Kisumi’s katana. First Class Mikoshiba Kumiko, Seijuro’s little sister, leapt in to defend him with her oversized cleaver, only to be intercepted by First Class Yamazaki Sousuke and his broadsword.

The small squad of four was famous for being young, reckless, and deadly. No one was sure who their direct superiors were, but Mado Akira was most likely involved, considering her work with the other “loose cannon” squad, the Quinx. Makoto considered himself pretty lucky to be watching them; after all, he was only at CCG to shuffle around papers.

He sighed softly, gazing at Yamazaki’s deft movements. He had a lot of power behind each of his strikes, but he was slower than the lithe Kumiko, who was darting around and weaving under blows with grace. Kisumi was more of a prankster, feinting opponents often, and the elder Mikoshiba was a combination of all of them. No wonder they were so effective at killing ghouls. That was something Makoto would like to be, but he was fairly sure he would be useless in combat.

The brown haired boy still remembered the fear he’d felt when faced with real monsters.

_Makoto was trying to help his little sister Ran solve a math problem when the phone rang. He rose and grabbed the ringing device, picking up without looking at the caller ID._

_“Hello?” He greeted casually, watching Ran get into a petty fight with her twin, Ren. Makoto gave his siblings a warning glance- they were fourteen now; they shouldn’t be fighting over small things._

_“Tachibana-san,” The caller answered sadly. The green eyed boy realized it was the old lady from across the street, but she sounded rather upset. He wondered if the twins’ cat had gotten into her rose bushes again and ruined them._

_“Ah, Satou-san! How can I help you?” Makoto chirped._

_“Tachibana-san, it seems no one warned you, but there’s a very dangerous ghoul in your area. The CCG called for evacuation, and they barricaded the area under the impression that no humans were left. But you and your siblings are the only family not here. I offer my condolences, and I wish you luck. If you leave now, you might be able to reach the barricade before the ghoul finds you.”_

_The line went dead with a click, and Makoto dropped the receiver. Ren and Ran turned to him in confusion, and their eyes widened when they saw his horror._

_“Nii-chan? What’s wrong?” Ran asked tentatively. Makoto didn’t offer a response, instead striding over to them and grabbing their arms. He hauled them both to their feet and began walking toward the back door. He was interrupted by a loud, echoing crash outside, and a wild laugh pierced the night. Makoto froze. He didn’t have time to get the twins out- he had to hide them!_

_Scrambling into a bedroom, he flung open the closet door and pushed his little siblings inside. Steeling himself, Makoto began to explain. “There is a dangerous ghoul in the area, and you have to stay quiet. We’re the only prey in the area.” The eldest Tachibana whispered, his heart aching as he watched their panic. “I’ll try to lure it away.”_

_“Nii-chan, no!” Ren protested, but Makoto shushed him. “Stay here.” He ordered, exiting the bedroom and slipping back into the living room._

_To his horror, the ghoul was already inside. The bikaku turned her head and smiled eerily, purple kagune lashing behind her. Makoto had no choice but to move forward. If he backed up, the ghoul would smell the twins and eat them too._ What am I going to tell Haru and Nagisa? _Makoto thought._ And will custody of the twins go to one of them? We don’t have any other family… What do I do? I hate this situation!

_“You have a nice house; thanks for inviting me.” The girl cooed, tilting her head. “But I think it’d be better if I was offered food. That’s what you humans do to guests, right?”_

_“Well,” Makoto laughed sheepishly. “I’m the only one here, so will I do?”_

_“You’re a liar~” She sang. “I can smell the other little humans. You’ll suffice though.”_

_“Great! But I don’t wanna get blood on the upholstery, so we’ll have to take this to the veranda.” Makoto giggled hysterically, taking off running. He managed to escape his house, and predictably, she followed him out into the street. Makoto heard her squeal joyfully and fling out her bikaku. The tail plowed into the ground in front of him, and he tripped over the now uneven ground, landing heavily._

_“I love the little entertainment you provided. So_ courteous _.” The ghoul gasped, winding the violet appendage around his middle and lifting Makoto into the air. He yelped and squirmed in its hold, trying to fight being reeled in. The ghoul snickered at his futile attempts and opened her jaw wide…_

_…but her head was suddenly separated from her body. The kagune dissolved into reddish mist, and Makoto crumpled to the asphalt as her body followed her head’s descent. He looked up to see exactly what had happened and found a boy holding a bloodied broadsword._

_Without speaking, the boy showed him a badge that was dimly illuminated by the light coming from Makoto’s windows. Underneath a photo of him, it read_ First Class Yamazaki Sousuke, CCG Investigator.

His most clear memory of that fateful night was when Yamazaki himself had shown up and sliced the ghoul’s head off in one stroke, saving the cornered brown haired boy from being eaten alive. The entire experience had inspired Makoto into taking a secret job with the CCG, but the most striking part was the teal eyed investigator barging in and killing his escaped quarry. Makoto knew who he was, but had never seen him in the halls, yet alone doing a demonstration for the underdogs.

Now he was watching him a bit creepily. Reddening, Makoto studied the squad from the corner of his eye and listened halfheartedly to the tips Kumiko was giving out. Her brother jumped in occasionally with extra help, as did the overenthusiastic Kisumi. The pink haired investigator reminded Makoto of Nagisa, who also leapt around, draped himself over his friends, and liked playing tricks. Yamazaki only nodded silently in assent, seemingly distracted. When the green eyed boy finally faced forward, he realized the other was staring right at him.

Mortified and slightly panicked by Yamazaki’s calculating gaze, Makoto prayed for the demonstration to end. He’d heard Associate Special Class Suzuya Juuzou might drop by and offer his own tips too. At first he’d been eager to see how the scythe wielder fought, yet all he hoped now was that the black haired boy got distracted by food or something so he could leave.

Thankfully, Suzuya never showed up. Bless his tiny grim reaper heart. Makoto and his other low level coworkers were dismissed to do their mediocre job of delivering mail and filing papers, and he thought he was in the clear.

Key word: thought.

The boy felt a tap on his shoulder. When he turned around, Makoto found himself face to face with Yamazaki, who looked a bit awkward. He nearly dropped his papers as the black haired investigator started to speak.

“You’re the one whose house got broken into by a ghoul, right? Tachibana?” Yamazaki questioned. His grip on his briefcase tightened, indicating that he recalled killing the ghoul all too well.

Makoto lowered his eyes and nodded. “Er, yes, and I never thanked you properly for that, Yamazaki-san. I should tell you now how grateful I am; it wasn’t just me you saved.” Makoto replied, smiling. “My younger sister and brother were there too, so our entire family is in your debt.”

Yamazaki seemed embarrassed. “Don’t say that; it’s my job. And call me Sousuke, please, Yamazaki-san makes me think of my old man.”

“Then please call me Makoto!” He answered as they began to walk. Dimly, Makoto realized that Sousuke’s squad had just gone ahead without them, and the teal eyed investigator was probably anxious to get back to them. But instead of going after the other three, he entered the elevator with Makoto.

“I’m not following you or anything,” He explained. “I have to go up to the third floor to talk with… Arima-san.” Sousuke looked vaguely uncomfortable, letting Makoto know he was just as intimidated by the white haired investigator as everyone else.

The elevator doors opened again, interrupting whatever Makoto had been about to respond with. A group of Third Class investigators flooded in, all chattering. “Oi, asshole, you can’t be serious. They’re putting the Quinx on the Torso investigation? Of all people, they’re actually assigning the Quinx? Are they desperate? Sasaki’s the only competent one on that squad, and he’s a fucking ghoul.” A black haired boy drawled, ruffling his hair.

“Well, Urie’s alright. Then you’ve got that Yonebayashi, who never gets out of bed. She’s the literal opposite end of the spectrum. Mutsuki’s overall pathetic, and… the fuck is the other kid’s name? Shirazu? See, he’s so irrelevant you can’t remember him.” A blond replied, completely unconcerned by the way he’d been addressed. “I feel bad for the other investigators on the case.”

“Pfft, and you know they’re Mado-san’s little babies, so they’ll get excuses made for them again.” A brown haired boy chimed in, trying to sound vindictive. “I heard Arima’s half adopted Sasaki too.”

“But… um.” A short blonde girl spoke up. “It doesn’t really matter if they’re not stellar as long as they get a deadly ghoul off the street, right?” 

“Yachi-chan, you’re too nice.” The brown haired boy said. “You and Hinata both.”

“Eh? You’re nice too though, Yamaguchi-kun…” She mumbled in confusion.

The group laughed as they disembarked, and Makoto blinked. “Were… were they saying such rude things about the Quinx squad? Why? I heard they’re a decent squad when they put their minds to it, and that Sasaki-san is pretty smart.”

Sousuke sighed. “They are alright, considering, but they have a whole host of odd quirks. People are wary of them because they have Quinques implanted in their bodies too, and because Sasaki really is a ghoul. He isn’t crazed, and he’s closely monitored. It still makes others judge him harshly.”

Makoto stared at his shoes as they exited the elevator. _Even the CCG has their issues, huh? Well… I shouldn’t make judgments. I think it’s cool to be able to fight without an external Quinque. And…_

_They’re still stronger than me._

The two bade each other goodbye and parted ways.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll meet you again soon~ I'll try to write whenever I can!
> 
> By the way, Mikoshiba Kumiko is only partially an OC. The Free! wiki states that Sei has a little sister. I took liberties. ^^


	7. Chapter 5- In Which I Return From The Dead

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is still Run and Hide When Night Falls, and we're back in business.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been forever, but I'm back! And I'm so grateful you've stuck around and given this fic your love! Almost 2000 hits and 136 kudos?! I don't deserve you... but thanks so much!
> 
> Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and/or Happy Another Day of Existance! RH for XMAS!
> 
> Any fucked up formatting will be edited tomorrow. Boxing Day edits, everybody.

Rin watched the scene before him with a mildly disgusted expression. In the past twenty minutes, that blond had latched on to Gou and was casually irritating the ever loving hell out of Rei. It almost made Rin want to help him, but his sister would most likely get really pissed if he tried to meddle with her new friend. And a pissed off Gou usually meant a koukaku planted in his stomach.

The door opened, and Hazuki perked up, twisting in his seat and cheering, “HARU-CHAN!” Every ghoul in the shop winced at the sheer volume of the cry, and Rin glared at the newcomer for causing such a reaction.

Or rather, he tried to. He lost his anger when he saw exactly who it was.

It was the black haired boy from before, Hazuki’s artist friend, with a sketchbook in tow. He looked as pretty as before, or maybe even more so, as Rin could see all the little details. The boy’s skin was lightly tanned, at least wherever it peeked out of the oversized black hoodie he wore; his hair was adorably mussed and hung into his azure eyes, which brightened a bit upon seeing Hazuki; his hands were blackened from graphite, and... overall, Rin was entirely sure that this was a beautiful human, and he should be afraid.

“Thanks for coming, Haru-chan, even though it’s all right now.” Hazuki chirped, swaying in his seat. It knocked over a bag of books, which he scrambled to pick up, laughing like “Haru” had already chided him.

“So I can go home?” The artist mumbled, rubbing at his eye with his cleaner hand. Haru looked both sleepy and bored, which Rin felt like remedying. Thus, when Gou moved to welcome him into the shop and offer him something, Rin took a few steps forward and began the little customer service spiel.

“Welcome to Samezuka; can I offer you anything?”

Haru looked at him blankly, gaze flickering over his entire body before settling on Rin’s eyes with mild interest. The redhead fought the urge to look away, knowing his regular eyes were odd for humans. But eye contact was good, very good- it gave the ghoul the opportunity to admire the human’s eyes.

“Do you have mackerel?”

The request was so odd Rin stared at him in complete shock, mouth half open because what the fuck; who walked into a coffee shop and asked for fish? Dimly, he heard Rei start to offer some high end sushi bar before Nitori shushed him, telling him not to lose prospective business so fast.

Hazuki groaned, actually resting his head in his hands and staring at the wall in a “what am I going to do with you?” manner. “They’re not gonna have mackerel here, jeez, Haru-chan. It’s a coffee shop. And don’t get all sad, okay; they probably have something with pineapple.”

“We have pineapple cobbler.” Rin offered faintly, still reeling. “Anything else with that?”

“Black coffee.” Haru replied, ghosting over to the table his friend had claimed and sitting down, pulling a pencil out of his pocket. He buried himself in his sketchbook after that, not offering a single word to anyone else.

Nitori went and completed the order, returning to the counter with Momo, and Rin unsurely drifted to his sister and Rei, wondering what they were peering at. It looked like one of Hazuki’s books.

To Rin’s complete surprise, it was a book about ghouls.

The weapons ghouls can produce from within their bodies are named kagune, or red child. Kagune are produced from materialized RC cells, which are comparable to liquid muscle. There are four known types of kagune: ukaku, koukaku, rinkaku, and bikaku. Very few ghouls are known to have dual kagune…

Rin tore himself away from the book and stared at Rei and Gou, wondering what Rei’s reaction would be at seeing just what kind of human he’d gotten involved with. To no one’s surprise, he looked immensely unnerved, entire body tense and eyes filled with worry. Gou seemed uneasy too, but neither had said a word.

So Rin jumped in to ask Hazuki what exactly he was up to.

“Why are you reading a book about ghouls while trying to relax?” He questioned casually. “Hardly seems like good reading with food.”

“Because ghouls are really cool!” The human squealed, excitement filling his eyes. Haru lifted his head, a weary expression settling over his face, as the blond began to chatter. “And this is an updated book, and it’s totally gonna help with my research, and I haven’t been this excited since the last 200 we won!”

Rei jumped on the new topic with the finesse of a dying cat, eager to escape the topic of, well… their own species. “By 200, do you mean 200 medley relay? As in, swimming?”

“Yeah! I always swim breaststroke! We used to race in high school, but now there’s no one to race except our friends… for fun…” He trailed off, slightly downcast. But he perked up again, hurriedly asking in return, “Do you swim?”

“I did,” Rei replied, leaning against the opposite table. “I was only good at butterfly, so it was my event in relays and meets.”

“Mine too,” Rin admitted, remembering the times spent racing other teams and his father, back when he went to high school and the older ghoul was still alive. “I mean, it wasn’t all I could do, just my favorite.”

Haru snorted a tad derisively. “Who voluntarily swims the 100 fly?” he grumbled under his breath, most likely thinking the other boys wouldn’t hear. He wasn’t aware at all of their heightened senses, of course, but that had been offensive. Rei looked so affronted it was comical, and the red eyed boy felt irritation prickle under his skin.

Narrowing his eyes, Rin snapped, “Then what did you swim, if you even did at all?”

Haru fixed him with a calm gaze, pencil still sweeping across his paper, as he retorted, “I only swim free.”

Rin was 90% sure that hearts weren’t supposed to skip beats like that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please continue offering feedback! 
> 
> Quick note: as I'm sure some of you have found out, I can no longer be reached on Tumblr. I shall say that I had to leave due to nasty people. If you're so inclined, then please leave those headcanons and kind words in the comments!


	8. Chapter 6- Motion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fast update because I can write when I procrastinate, it seems.
> 
> Thank you for more kudos and comments! You guys make writing even more fun.
> 
> The plot actually fucking goes somewhere. Who can guess what's gonna happen?

Sousuke was an intimidating person, if he was being honest with himself. He knew recruits revered him, knew people tended to avoid him in the streets, knew that he was tough, but he cowered in the presence of Arima, the CCG’s most decorated and powerful investigator. The man had just wanted to talk about the new group of ghouls, as it seemed Sousuke’s squad was going to be going after them, but the teal eyed investigator needed a five hour rest just because he’d been standing near Arima.

What can I think about to take my mind off that meeting? Sousuke wondered. Then his gaze drifted to the papers in his hands, the files on those ghouls, and he realized the answer was right in front of him. Knowing his feet would automatically carry him back to his apartment, where his squad had probably crashed again, Sousuke tuned out the background noise and started reading.

The first file was the shortest, but it didn’t matter too much. He dove in anyway.

GHOUL

Codename: Crescent  
Type: Bikaku/Rating: A~  
Age:14-18  
Height: 165-168cm

Additional Description: Presumed to be some sort of underling. Younger than other group members. Appearance and other physical factors unknown.

Sousuke frowned. That file was oddly sparse for the CCG; most files had much more information, even on A class and lower ghouls. He then realized that it must be because of the disappearance of Nagachika after the Anteiku raid- although the blond hadn’t been the highest ranked investigator, he’d been eerily good at gathering information and had often helped in the creation and updating of the files.

Shaking his head, Sousuke continued.

GHOUL

Codename: Ribbon  
Type: Koukaku/Rating: S~  
Age: 18-19  
Sex: Female  
Hair: Wine Red  
Height: 160cm

Characteristics: A very violent and territorial ghoul when provoked. Logical and straightforward. Seems to be unable to swim (see: battle in sewers), but unrestrained even by heavier kagune on land. Small stature hides strength. Known to wind kagune around opponents and crush them.

Additional Description: It is highly probable that she is related to the SS Class Shark.

Proceed with caution.

This made Sousuke pause. Another bare file, although more was provided here than in Crescent’s. What was going on? How was he expected to go up against enemies he had so little information on? Luckily, Mikoshiba was a good enough captain to work with this, but it was disheartening to not know more about his enemy. The black haired boy bit his lip and turned to the third page.

GHOUL

Codename: Butterfly  
Type: Ukaku/Rating: SS~

Sousuke stopped reading right there, horrified. How on earth could the CCG expect them to fight not only A and S Class ghouls, but an SS one, when First Class investigators could barely be called equal to the A Class?

“What the fuck.” He said flatly, lowering his hands. No. He needed to talk to his squad about this. Kisumi and Mikoshiba would take it the same way as him, although Mikoshiba would be slightly calmer, and Kumiko… well, this would excite her. She got along well with ASC Suzuya for a reason.

The investigator sighed, rubbed his forehead, and made his way to his apartment building in a muddled haze. He really needed a drink.

  
-

To Rei’s sheer irritance, the humans he’d inadvertently attracted stayed at Samezuka until it was time to close at nine. Hazuki bade them goodbye cheerfully, promising to return the next day before going about his actual business. His friend, Nanase (which he’d only given as his name after Rin had called him Haru and gotten snapped at), hadn’t muttered anything more than a quick goodbye before sweeping out of Samezuka with an almost relieved look.

Rei had the feeling being around so many people had drained the artist as much as it had him.

But now, there were no more chatty, ghoul obsessed- because Hazuki was certainly obsessed, if all those books had anything to say about it- humans cluttering up Samezuka, and the band of ghouls could talk. Even Momo had been thrown out by a vaguely apologetic Nitori, so they could discuss the long Saturday.

“SO! I was attacked today.” Gou opened the conversation like she was talking about the weather, perching on a table and crossing her legs primly. Rin’s attention snapped to her in surprise, worry coating his gaze.

“Gou, are you okay? What happened? Who was it? Do I have to kill th-” He started to babble, sclera going black at the edges.

“Dear brother, shut up.” The smaller redhead replied, holding up her hand. “They’re already dead. And I took refuge in Nitori’s place. Got all healed up, although Momo thinks I get into fights with gangs now…” He’s not that far off, Rei thought. The loose cannon ghouls they fought could be considered one large gang.

“He’s not the brightest.” Nitori sighed. “Anyway, don’t worry Rin-senpai; she’s okay. And I temporarily fixed Rei-san’s mask.” He reached into his deep pocket and pulled out the iconic purple butterfly mask, now with no visible crack and a new paint job. “I’ll make a new one if needed, or you can go to Uta-senpai in the other ward if it’s too bad.” The silver haired boy lowered his gaze abruptly, suddenly seeming unsure for no reason.

“This is more than satisfactory, I assure you, Nitori-san!” Rei scrambled to reply. The younger ghoul beamed, relaxing visibly.

“What are we going to do about the CCG’s Torso investigation?” Rin asked, moving to a new topic once everyone had settled.

“Nothing would be the wisest, as long as no one here is hurt.” Rei advised. Nitori agreed with a nod, and Gou acquiesced too. Rin thought over it for only a second before agreeing.

“Alright. Let’s wrap up, then. After what Rei and I did got into the widestream human media, the CCG is definitely going to be after us. We were getting well known already, but this sealed our fate. Apologies. But be careful,” he warned, with a flash of his sharpened teeth. “You don’t want to get bitten by them… or become another Anteiku.”

The ghouls went home with the warning in their heads, and Rei knew for certain that they had to proceed with utmost caution.

_That means we must find a way to get rid of those humans from today… but how can we do that without outright killing them?_

 

-

 

In the apartment of human investigators, four “reckless” kids lay sprawled around a table littered with beer bottles and files. A sliver of moonlight illuminated the top file, which had been scribbled all over in red marker and pen.

GHOUL

Codename: Shark  
Type: Rinkaku/Rating: SS  
Age: 22-23  
Sex: Male  
Hair: Wine Red  
Height: 180cm

“Do not approach!!” was a warning in bold on the file, but the squad was going to have to disregard it.

Soon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please offer feedback~ I hope you liked it!
> 
> Formatting edits tomorrow, when I fucking care.


	9. Chapter 7- Stall

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Do I know what this is? No. Am I posting it anyway? Yeah!
> 
> We finally get somewhere in relationship development, I cower in shame, and there are so many things I'd rather do than try to draw art for this fic. Really, I'm a sad creature.
> 
> THANK YOU FOR 170 KUDOS! I LOVE YOU ALL! You're all so sweet!

Sunday morning was… slow. That was Rin’s only thought as he methodically wiped the counter. There were only a few customers occupying tables, many watching the news while they sipped their coffee. The ghoul kept an ear out for any CCG related news, listening so intently he knocked a container of ground cinnamon to the floor. The power was still wafting through the air when he knelt to pick it up, and Rin accidentally inhaled it. The puffs of spice resulted in a sneezing fit so severe he missed seeing the entrance of a certain irritating blond, but he sure heard it.

“Rei-chan!” Hazuki chirped loudly, waltzing into the shop in entirely too bright clothing. Rin’s eye twitched. This kid was probably going to get murdered; by who, he didn’t know, but it would happen. “Oh, and Rinrin.” The rose eyed boy added, nodding cheekily at Rin, who sneezed again.

“Can you not call me that?” Rin mumbled flatly, standing and placing the stupid container back in its place. Rei’s protests at his nickname were much louder, and all they served to do was draw the blond in for the metaphorical kill. Gou sighed and took over all the lost soul’s work without a word.

 _Not my problem._ The barista thought, leaning against the counter. His eyes fluttered shut lowly before they snapped right back open in interest. Was Haru around?

To his vague disappointment, the artist wasn’t trailing behind Hazuki like before, and he wasn’t in the area either; Rin could only smell a trace of his (frankly addictive) scent on Hazuki’s jacket, probably because the boy was clingy as hell. He hid his pout and reassured himself that Haru would come by again sometime.

 _And then what? Do I try and stop whatever this is? Do I kill him? Eat him?_ Rin thought, frustrated.

_Do I talk to him again?_

_Seriously, what the hell do I do with that mackerel eating, butterfly hating, weirdo?_

-

Haru flopped on the couch and stared listlessly at the ceiling. His mind was consumed with a whirlwind of disjointed, mundane thoughts, and he tuned back into them as he picked at the worn blue upholstery. This was usually something that happened in the middle of the week, so it was to be expected.

_I’m out of mackerel. I’ll have to turn in that assignment in Satou’s calc class. What do I do for the art project, just a water landscape again? I think I’m running low on coffee. There’s rent to pay; I have to find a job again. Tutoring, maybe. I’ll open commissions. I want pineapple._

The black haired artist groaned quietly, covering his face with his arm. Could he ask Makoto to shop for him? Or would his mysterious job get in the way? Nagisa couldn’t be trusted to not buy a plethora of snacks Haru didn’t eat, and-

Haru ground his teeth and stood. He grabbed his dolphin jacket and sketchbook from their customary place on his faded welcome mat and stormed out, deciding to go anywhere that wasn’t his apartment. It wasn’t like there was anyone to tell him he couldn’t.

The air was decidedly cold, he mused, sweeping past clouds of civilians with a dark look marring his features. It seeped under his skin, stopping him from continuing his incensed walk. Haru looked up at the invitingly lit shops he’d paused by, and he froze.

He’d wandered over to Samezuka without thinking. And he was alone.

A sharp wind gusted by, and Haru made up his mind. He pushed open the door and strode in, worrying his lip between his teeth.

Time to not display his horrible social awkwardness in front of easily annoyed redheads.

_-_

Nitori jumped a foot in the air when a customer suddenly entered, and he nervously turned around to greet them. He heard Gou, Rei, and Rin irritably pause their game of Mau at a back table; since there had been no customers for twenty minutes, the trio had started a dead silent card game with Gou as the vicious cardmaster. Her version of Mau was impossible, and no one had figured out the rules when they’d been interrupted.

“The game of Mau shall pause,” the kokaku said sweetly. “You may place your cards on the table…”

Nitori focused on the customer he’d been ignoring in embarrassment, and he stumbled through his greeting. “Welcome to Samezuka; how may I help… you.”

It was the boy Rin had been staring at a few days ago, the loudmouth blond’s quiet companion. He fixed Nitori with an expressionless face and ordered black coffee with pineapple cobbler, sending the gray haired waiter skittering around to get everything. Dimly, he heard Rin start talking, and Rei and Gou restarted the game without him.

“Oi, Haru, it’s been a while.”

“It’s been four days.” Haru deadpanned, shifting his weight from one foot to another. “That’s not that long.”

“It is when that Hazuki kid shows up every day and you don’t.” The older ghoul replied flippantly. "Anyway, it’s good that you’re here, because I wanted to ask you something.”

“If you want a drawing, you pay for it.” The human snapped, setting his sketchbook on a table pointedly. Rin’s confusion was palpable even without seeing his bewildered face.

“Um, no. I wanted to know if you would race me sometime. 100 free, keeping it simple.”

Nitori poured coffee all over his hand in surprise.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How was the mess up there? Be honest, guys~
> 
> Also, I have no idea if anyone has noticed, but I started a new RinHaru fic! It's a magic AU under this name, so if you want to check it out, go ahead! I know some of you have said you like my writing style, and if you want more RH with that, feel free to try "i was made to snuff you out"!
> 
> Blizzard out~ See ya next update time!
> 
> (Real quick note: Mau is a real game, and the only rule is that there are NO rules. I played it at a speech tournament once and figured out most rules of my friends' version pretty fast, but it's a stressful experience).


	10. Chapter 8- Deal

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know. I don't- I don't know. I'm super freaked out right now (what I just saw made me want to leave this planet and never return), but here's a chapter. Rin is gay, Haru has some issues, and no one is dead yet. Yet.
> 
> Thank you for 181 kudos! You readers are the best.

Haru blinked. Once. Twice. Slowly. He wasn’t sure if he had heard that sentence right. Had this barista he had only met a few days ago just challenged him to, of all the damn things, a _free_ race? Haru stared at Rin, who watched him utterly seriously. The boy making his coffee was whimpering quietly and holding his hand. The waitress was laughing silently and throwing cards at the other worker, who looked both pissed off and impressed at the same time. The world was still turning. And this boy had just challenged him to a race.

No one had challenged Haru to a race in a while, and especially not a race in freestyle, his best stroke. People had given up on that long ago, saying it was too hard, he was too good, there was no point in trying. Haru had given up on ever being asked for that again, and even though he’d tried to leave behind swimming, this made him almost happy.

Before the mildly disgruntled artist could stop himself, words spilled from his mouth. “Where and when?”

Rin’s wicked grin exposed his slightly sharp teeth. “Practically no one uses the pool at my college. We could race there easily. When are you available, Nanase?”

The blue eyed boy resisted the urge to snap at him for calling his name like that and considered. He was technically free tomorrow, and told the redhead as much. He could sense that the boy was persistent, so why wouldn’t he get this out of the way now and only get coffee from the brat some other time? Really, Haru deserved an award for that quick thinking.

“Good. What does the winner get?” Rin chirped, taking Haru’s order from the silver haired boy who had maybe burned himself and giving it to him. He raised an eyebrow as he sat down and wondered.

“If I win, can I get a job here?” Haru finally asked. Multiple birds with one stone- his financial woes would be over if he secured a place at this fairly popular coffee shop. He could brew coffee well enough; he did it all the time. _Oh, damn it, I still have to buy coffee for the apartment._

“We aren’t really hiring-” The bespectacled boy began to yell from the back of the shop, panic clouding his gaze, but Rin cut him off by raising his hand. The waitress and other barista watched wide-eyed, both seeming uneasy.

“Why do you want a job here, anyway? Can’t you get one somewhere else?” Came the reply, seemingly disinterested. Haru could detect the curiosity lurking under the words, and he ended up snorting around a bite of cobbler. What a different reaction in comparison to the others.

“Because it’s convenient. I might as well try to get one here than bother applying to places I don’t even know. And I left my other job since the place was about to close, which won’t be a problem here.” The unspoken “This shop is too popular to lose business.” hung in the air, and Rin smirked like he could hear it.

Haru immediately felt the urge to fight him.

“Well, I’ll think about it. I own this place anyway, so I won’t need to consult anyone but the people you already know. What do I get if I win?”

“Don’t ask me for money. I’m going broke.” The artist replied, downing his coffee in a single gulp before he properly finished his sentence. The dim lights highlighted the other boy’s amused expression a little too well; he looked cocky and ethereal and Haru needed to not go there because now he wanted to draw him. His fingers itched for his pencil.

It was the silver haired boy who piped up, surprisingly enough. “Um… you’re an artist, right? Can you draw or paint art for the walls? See, our decor isn’t the best- the walls are plain dark oak paneling and beige paint, which is minimalistic and simple, yet boring. I’m kinda worried the design will make customers lose interest, even if they focus on their food. Humans are easily distracted.”

Haru frowned, barely paying attention to Rin mulling it over. ‘Humans are easily distracted?’ Something about the phrase was odd...

“That works, actually,” His challenger admitted at last, glaring at the walls. They weren’t exactly dull, just sparse. Haru could already imagine the watercolor canvases he could fill the walls with. A warm and earthy color scheme would be best, more reds, blacks, and browns than anything, and it would interest the patrons. Maybe he could turn in one of the pieces he painted here for the art project.

God, this trip was solving all his problems except Satou’s calculus bullshit and getting enough coffee to stock his home. Math was impossible anyway; it wasn’t like he could just ask these people for that, although the boy with the glasses seemed like the type to like math and be good at it. And he could still buy coffee.

“Alright. I’ll see you tomorrow if you give me the name of your campus.”

Rin smiled again, this time much more pleased instead of cocky. “I’m looking forward to it, Nanase.”

Haru frowned and turned away. His heart should not be fluttering.

-

The next afternoon had Rin cursing himself, and people walked past him with slight fear as he banged his head against the wall of the pool center. He was so stupid. What was he thinking, challenging Haru to a race like that? What was he thinking going along with the wager that could very well end with Haru working in a shop of fucking ghouls?

 _Wait, why am I worried?_ Rin thought. _I can just use my greater strength, can’t I? And- oh shit, I can smell him over all this damn chlorine. He’s here._

He turned around with a little smirk fixed in place as the blue eyed boy wandered into the towering pool center, looking at the pool like he’d never seen anything more beautiful in his goddamn life. Rin wasn’t too inclined to disagree; it was a fairly pretty pool. But damn, Haru looked fixated. It was kind of cute.

 _I need to fight Rei to feel manly again._ He hit his forehead with his palm for good measure and bounded over to the human, already ready to speak a mile a minute.

“Hey, Nanase! Did you get here okay?” The rinkaku asked. Haru looked at him like he was crazy.

“This campus is near enough to my apartment that I can walk. Do you want to warm up or no?”

“So to the point. Can’t you offer some small talk?” Rin complained, trying not to pout like Gou did when she was weaseling something out of the Mikoshibas. “And I already did, so you go ahead. Locker rooms are over there.”

“Talk to the wall you were hitting your head against; maybe it’ll care.” The blue eyed boy deadpanned, and before Rin could retort, he started stripping.

“What the actual _fuCK_ , NANASE?!” The redhead shrieked, almost shoving Haru over in his haste to do something. “YOU CAN’T JUST DO THAT IN A PUBLIC PLACE!”

“Calm down; I have jammers on under this.” He muttered, ruffling his hair a little self consciously. Thankfully, Haru was true to his word, and Rin was spared having to explain lots of things to superintendents. But before he could try to talk anymore, Haru ran to the edge of the pool and flung himself in like he belonged there.

Rin gathered up the human’s clothes and attempted to not think about how natural that looked. Maybe today would be more difficult than he expected.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was a longer chapter than normal, haha... I'm getting better, maybe? How's the relationship development going? Please feel free to leave feedback!
> 
> I don't want to think anymoooooore.


	11. Chapter 9- Author Awakes From the Dead, Dumps Update, and Runs

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So much shit goes down that it surprised me.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'M SO SORRY! I'M SORRY I'M OVER A MONTH LATE! *sobs* The last month was extremely hectic, and I've been so exhausted and uninspired that I literally could not. But I'm here with a chapter that's pretty fucking long for me, though not the 5K I was shooting for.
> 
> To the person who wanted SouMako: I apologize right now. I was going to put it in, but I decided that the point I'd left off at was pretty good, and it will FOR SURE be next update. I'm sorry, because I promised, but there will be interaction incoming.
> 
> My betas never responded, and it's been a while since I've written, so please forgive the inconsistencies and shittiness. I'm going to seriously go over it again (and my betas might respond), so I'll fix mistakes.
> 
> Thank you for your patience and 220 FREAKING KUDOS! YOU'RE THE BEST! On with the chapter (which has some violence, nothing major).

Rin sat atop a damp starting block, watching Haru twist gracefully in the water and pop up in an entirely different lane than where he began. He’d have liked to start at least ten minutes ago, but watching Haru almost play in the pool had been immensely distracting. The human was really cute, and if he was being honest, it was quickly becoming a problem. He was too distracting; Rin couldn’t focus and get into a competitive mood.

Deciding to finish this, no matter how much Haru wanted to dance in the deep end, he strode to the starting block closest to the black haired boy and whistled at a pitch that hurt his own ears. People around them jumped, and Haru popped up and looked at him curiously, having somehow heard him underwater. Rin groaned. 

“Nanase, did you forget why we’re here? Race, remember?” He said pointedly. The other pouted and obediently pulled himself out, making it hard for Rin to not stare at his toned body. Haru was slimmer than him, but still… he looked strong.

“I remember.” Haru muttered needlessly, grabbing his abandoned cap and goggles from the deck He hopped onto a starting block and waited for Rin to do the same. Rin felt excitement overtake him and quickly motioned at a random human girl to call for the start. Snapping the strap of his goggles and looking 25 meters across the pool to the other end, he felt anticipation coil up inside him.

“Swimmers, take your maaaark!” The short girl bellowed, signaling the two to drop into track starts and grab on to the rough plastic edges of the block. “Go!”

They dove.

Sinking into the water after so long was euphoric. Rin’s dive and following kicks carried him almost to the black line at the end of the deep end, but as he burst to the surface, he felt a… presence, only a hair’s breadth behind him, next to him, in front of him.

Holy shit, Haru was fast... so fast Rin was having trouble keeping up with him despite his enhanced strength. He gained a slight lead on his flip turns, yet his opponent kept up easily. They completed the 75 and turned again, and Rin knew it was the final chance he had to actually win the race and keep the human out of his coffee shop.

He pushed himself hard, but it wasn’t enough to win.

When they burst above the surface, breathing hard, the girl who called for the start was waiting at the water’s edge, looking impressed. Rin yanked off his goggles and gawked at her, much like a surprised seeming Haru beside him.

“It was a tie,” she informed sagely, tucking her damp orange hair behind her ear. “Congrats on your Olympic qualifying times too, for what it’s worth.”

When she sauntered off, Rin caught the very slight scent of another ghoul lingering on her skin, and that was almost more confusing than the fact that they’d tied.

As they hauled themselves out of the pool, the ghoul got the feeling that the blue eyed beauty wanted to say something to him. He glared, red eyes narrow, and asked what it was.

“No one’s ever been able to keep up with me,” Haru admitted dully, following Rin to the locker rooms. “That’s the first time in a while I’ve felt challenged in a race. I suppose I should thank you for it.”

The redhead was simultaneously touched and taken aback. What had he meant by “no one’s ever been able to keep up with me?” Rin nodded and stepped into the shower, absentmindedly showing Haru where he’d thrown the discarded clothes from earlier.

Underneath the stream of warm water, he began to think. First, did he have any chance of turning the races into a regular thing? It would both be entertaining and a way to get to know the artist, but he had no idea if he could really get the aloof human to agree. And second, what the fuck were they going to do about the wager? No one had won or lost, so they either split the deal or forfeited it entirely, the latter being more disappointing for him. Or both, really; Haru had mentioned needing a job with a steady income. He’d do whatever he could to stay around Haru; being around him had lessened his exhaustion and dissatisfaction, giving him something to look forward to.

Rin sighed and stepped out of the shower regretfully. Haru had dragged himself away from the water and had already changed back, and he perched on the bench with his wet swimsuit in hand. The cap and goggles rested on the bench, dripping water on the tile floor steadily. He sheepishly turned to Rin with a pained look on his face, and Rin’s response was an arched eyebrow.

“I didn’t bring a bag. Can I borrow one from you?” Haru ground out, looking irritated with himself. Rin laughed; this human was really cute, far more so than any other he’d met before.

“I’ll take your stuff and keep it with me at Samezuka. Come pick it up later.” He replied, toweling off. When he scrubbed it across his skin, he started; it was already damp. And Rin knew he hadn’t put it on a wet part of the bench, and Haru had already changed...

“Nanase,” he growled, getting ready to whoop his ass, but Haru just shrugged. 

“Didn’t bring anything. And I told you I live near here, didn’t I? If you want to go back to Samezuka, we can just stop there first.” His demeanor was flippant enough to bother Rin, but the prospect of seeing the cool boy’s apartment entranced him enough to come along obediently.

* * *

Rin’s first thought:  _ Haru’s apartment is pretty fucking big for an artist who lives alone. He has to be lying about going broke. _

His second thought:  _ I smell gourmet coffee and fish. _

The red eyed boy awkwardly waited in the entryway as Haru dropped his stuff off in his room and did… whatever else. Taking the time to admire everything besides the blatantly obvious, like the painstakingly handmade art and black leather couches, he marveled. Haru had to be loaded; otherwise, he wouldn’t have such a nice place. The shitty flat he shared with Gou didn’t hold a candle in comparison. This place had dark hardwood floors with no scuff marks, fluffy black rugs, a glass coffee table, cream walls, and a fairly high ceiling, while he and his little sister got a beat up floor with shitty, broken furniture lamely sitting atop it. Rin was damn impressed, actually.

“Are you done staring?” Haru asked dryly, tapping his foot in impatience. Rin noticed his sketchpad and pencil were tucked under his arm before he noticed the casual blue hoodie and black jeans Haru wore (and hell if that wasn’t somehow flattering).

Rin blanched, shaking himself out of his thoughts. “Yeah, yeah. Not my fault you have a nice place. So can we talk about our deal here? Or do you wanna go to Samezuka?”   
  
“Isn’t it void? Nobody won, according to that girl.” The blue eyed boy replied, fiddling with the rings of the book. “We don’t have a way of knowing if she was right, so we just have to assume-”

Before he could stop them, words spilled out of his mouth, interrupting Haru’s rationalizations. “Why don’t we split the deal? You paint two pieces for the shop, and I give you a part time job at Samezuka.”

The other considered, worrying his lip between his teeth as he calculated the time he’d have to work after his classes and on weekends. “That’s fair, then.” 

Rin wondered what exactly had led him to say that, since now his doom was sealed.

A human would work in a coffee shop of ghouls, and Rei and Gou would kill him for invalidating his own words.

* * *

No one was surprised when Rin came back to Samezuka smiling. What they didn’t expect was the human in tow, and that he was smiling for the wrong fucking reason.

“You tied? What the hell do you mean, ‘tied?’” Gou hissed, glaring up at her idiotic older brother. Upon his entirely too cheerful announcement, she’d grabbed his arm and dragged him to the stock room to have a “chat”. “Why didn’t you use your superior strength to win so we could keep him the hell out of our home?”   
  
“I did!” Her brother protested, nervously glancing through the stock room door’s window. Gou followed his gaze and noticed that he was watching Nanase awkwardly talk to Rei. “He won anyway.”   
  
“You cannot be serious. He is a human! Blatantly, weakly, clearly HUMAN! And you’re going to let him work here? He could die, Rin, just because one of us snaps. Either that or he sees us eating or fighting and calls the Doves! Need I remind you of Anteiku?”   
  
“Centipede was not a real human!” Rin growled, black suddenly overtaking his sclera. His teeth sharpened to razor like points as he stared down at her. Gou’s kagune writhed under her skin in retaliation, itching to burst out and kill. “And we won’t let ourselves fall like that! Don’t you think I understand the danger?”

“Why do you even care about this idiot? Does he smell good under the fucking chlorine and mackerel? Are you saving him to eat? To fuck?” The smaller redhead spat, gritting her teeth. A quick look through the window determined that no one had heard them yet, save for Rei. She wished he would slip in and help her talk Rin down. Nitori was useless in this, considering he was with Momo, and nothing could change his mind about that. 

Gou had already tried.   
  
Rin’s shoulders slumped, the fight escaping him like helium from a punctured balloon. “I can’t explain it. He’s… enchanting. And interesting. I won’t give us away. I just want to be with him; you know, do what mom said and coexist. ‘Pick out the scum of the earth to feast on, or the already gone, and walk among the ones trying to live too.’ I was so bored before, Gou. He takes that away. And I want to race him again.”

Gou softened at the mention of their mother, RC cells settling back under her skin. “You’re still being stupid.” She mumbled softly, looking at her shoes. She could see a small blood spatter staining the dark brown leather of the right one. Apparently, she’d missed it while cleaning.   
  
“Isn’t Rei? He’s letting that Hazuki brat cling to him now, right? Isn’t Nitori, who’s in a relationship with Momo? Aren’t we all just fools?” Rin answered, tucking a stray strand of hair behind his ear. “We’re stupid for trying to live normally, I guess. I’m still tired, Gou, no matter what.”   
  
He strode to the door and pushed it open far too gently, leaving her standing in the midst of supplies as it swung shut.

* * *

Over the next week, the ghouls of Samezuka learned to live with Nanase Haruka.

He actually wasn’t bad at making coffee, having become used to working with gourmet blends in both plain black coffee and marginally more complicated drinks like lattes and cappuccinos. The human had explained that he came from a fairly wealthy family that he’d frequently made coffee for, and although he lived on his own now, he’d retained the craving for higher quality brews. 

Rin had blatantly asked if they paid for his (apparently) expensive apartment, and he was bluntly told that Haru was cut off until he turned twenty one, so he paid for it himself. 

Rei had to admit, though: Haru wasn’t too bad to be around. He mostly kept to his art and to Rin (and the ghoul goaded him into it in every way he could). Besides, the blue eyed boy could bake, and now people also streamed in for Samezuka’s new and improved treats. Soon, they would have new decor up too. Rei almost wished he was a ghoul; then maybe this could last. Maybe he could be a completely integral part of Samezuka.

But that was something that couldn’t happen without a rather dubious organ transplant and a collection of mistakes and shitty decisions that Haru shouldn’t have to make.

Rei snorted and methodically cleaned the coffee cups from this morning, watching warm, soapy water carry off dark grounds from the ceramic bottoms of the utensils. Waiting to serve the Saturday lunch rush was boring, but he’d rather do melancholy dishwashing than listen to Rin and Haru bickering like a married couple outside as they arranged the pastries in their glass display cases. Rin was childishly insulting Haru’s style, and Haru retorted with some barb aimed at the red eyed boy’s long hair.

They acted like young children sometimes. Rei was unpleasantly reminded of Hazuki at that thought; he acted like a five year old hopped up on soda and candy 9 times out of 10. Luckily, the little blond irritance wasn’t around to chatter on about everything he found remotely interesting in his life.

And like he jinxed it, he heard the door burst open and someone squeal, “Haru-chan! You will not believe the good news I just got!” There was a pattering sound, like he was jumping up and down in the mostly silent cafe.

“What?” Haru murmured distantly, shutting the display case and shuffling around. Rei cocked his head, listening even if he was too wary to come out of the kitchen. Hazuki sounded quite excited. The ghoul couldn’t help but wonder if he got a new puppy or something equally mundane

“I got my internship with the CCG! They’re gonna let me start helping make Quinques really soon!” Hazuki chirped, as if those words weren’t damning as all hell.

Rei dropped the cup he was holding into the sink, and it shattered, pieces being washed into the drain by the stream of water. Fear paralyzed him.

_ I didn’t think he was going to be CCG just because he read ghoul books! No, no, this is far more dangerous than letting the Mikoshiba brothers hang around here. If he’s close to Haru, who now works here, this could come crashing down much faster. That’s it- I have to convince Rin to get rid of both Hazuki and the older Mikoshiba. Gou can take care of Mikoshiba, since he’s so infatuated with her he wouldn’t notice anything was off until her koukaku cut him in half. And I can finally shut up Hazuki. Maybe we can fire Haru, or he’ll just resign after the death of a close friend… We have to plan this carefully. _

Rei dried his hands, pulled out his phone, and coldly texted Rin.

**Rei: Meeting tonight. Don’t you dare try backing out.**

* * *

Nitori chewed his lip anxiously as the Samezuka staff, minus Haru, crowded into Gou and Rin’s apartment. Cups of coffee were mechanically handed out, and the air was so tense Nitori wondered if a kagune could cut it. Everyone’s eyes were red and black, and his kagune sat bunched up above his coccyx, aching to escape. He fidgeted with the hem of his grey sweater, watching the minute movements of each ghoul in the room stir up swarms of dust motes. Rin and Gou needed to clean in here soon enough.

“We need to kill some people.” Rei stated bluntly, setting his cup down hard. The sudden noise startled Nitori, and he hurriedly turned his attention to the other barista. “After what we heard today, I don’t see how we can’t.”

“Agreed.” Rin replied, the grating noise of his sharpened teeth rubbing together unnerving the younger boy. “Hazuki being affiliated with CCG is an issue, and he’s the type to blab too. I’m assuming you want to take care of that, Rei?”

“With pleasure. I’ll do it tonight, in fact.” The boy replied. He pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose and sniffed. “I’ll save the meat for all of us as well.”

“Besides him, though, we need to finish the elder Mikoshiba, and possibly the younger one too-” Their leader continued in a blase tone.

Nitori’s bikaku burst from his skin in a cloud of red and silver RC cells, materializing with its point held inches from Rin’s face. He wasn’t the only one, either; Gou’s koukaku blade hovered before his neck, and she snarled. The boy trembled, his whole body shaking with fear that Momo- his little human, who liked collecting bugs and had such a bright smile- could be killed.

“The hell you will!” They growled together. Nitori tried to keep his voice steady, even though he was terrified and surprised that Gou had cared about the older Mikoshiba.  


Rin raised an eyebrow, and all of a sudden, both he and Gou were suspended a foot in the air with their kagune plastered against their bodies, large rinkaku tendrils wound tight around them.

“The two of you are about a hundred years too early to try fighting me.” The elder Matsuoka said matter-of-factly. “And I heard from Hazuki’s later babbling that Mikoshiba’s squad is tasked with hunting us down while the Quinx deal with Torso. We have to eliminate those trying to kill us before we end up dead. It’s only fair.” Gou hung her head, hating that the explanation made sense. Her glare made it seem like she was going to argue, but the gray haired boy hastily cut her off.   
  
“Then promise you’ll leave Momo alone! He doesn’t want to go into the CCG, I swear! I promise he’ll never know; just don’t touch him!” Nitori pleaded, struggling futilely in Rin’s grip. “Senpai, I’m begging you, don’t hurt Momo!”

The rinkaku sighed and nodded, deciding that Momo was too much of an idiot to warrant attacking, and Nitori’s breath left him in a rush. Thank whatever was out there that resembled a god.

“You can’t hurt Sei either!” Gou tried protesting, but Rei’s wings emerged and crystallized, points threateningly aimed at her. Rin scowled, angry at someone raising their kagune at his sister, and Rei obliged with his unspoken request, letting the liquid muscle flow again.

“He is the leader of a squad coming after us. It must be done. If you won’t, then I will.” The ukaku turned to Rin, fitting his Butterfly mask over his face. “I’ll go now. I tricked Hazuki into thinking a kagune black market had been spotted in the area, so he’s running around very late at night. Shame that monsters come out then.”

Placing his hood over his head and retracting his wings just enough to make them hard to notice, Rei slipped out the door and went after Hazuki, leaving Nitori shamelessly relieved and Gou defeated.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't believe I made you wait so long. I'm sure 90% of you hate me. But I have free weekends now because debate season is over, so maybe it'll improve! Please leave feedback if you're so inclined! And thanks again for being amazing readers. 
> 
> Mini clarification: the way the race was set up here is entirely from my experience as a swimmer in my country. I haven't rewatched Free, and those were mostly high school races anyway, not friendly freebies. Sorry?
> 
> Oh, and if you can guess who the girl who called for the start was, ten points to your Harry Potter house and some virtual saba for you! (Hint: she's a canon character from one world.) Double points for guessing the ghoul she kinda smells like! (Hint: ship bias.)


	12. Chapter 10- Decisions+Movement

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, it only took me like two weeks this time! Go me!
> 
> In other news, I've lost my voice and feel like crap, lmao. But now I have my week off to write~
> 
> Thank you for 233 kudos! I love you!
> 
> By the way, if anyone wants to do art or post headcanons (or something; people used to send me them) on Tumblr, you can use the tag fic: tg hfu. I don't know if you'd like to use that, but I might as well. 
> 
> Additionally: why the fuck does every fight in this fic take place in an alley.

Sousuke really, really was not planning on meeting a target this way.

But here he was, stubbornly chasing a hooded figure with brilliant purple and red ukaku wings through the damn sewers, of all places. The air was hot and damp, pressing down on him and making him choke. Every patter of footsteps against the rough stone seemed too loud, as did every harsh breath and splash of water dripping down from above. His Quinque hung heavy in his hand, his body ached from a patchwork of wounds, and he woefully thought about how he had ended up in this mess.

20 Minutes Earlier

Nighttime walks were quite lovely, Sousuke mused. The city was peaceful at night, even if he was on guard with a weapon in his hand. His sharp teal eyes took in the sky, which was dotted with filmy stars. Breath making clouds in the air as he stepped forward aimlessly, Sousuke hummed. He wished he’d had the other investigators come out with him instead of drinking themselves into a stupor while searching for leads. Maybe they all could’ve collectively relaxed instead of panicking since they hadn’t produced results.

As he passed into an area with fewer people, he heard an ear-piercing screech come from an alley.

Sousuke immediately abandoned his plans for a nice outing and bolted toward the screaming noises, gripping his Quinque tighter than ever. The metal morphed from a briefcase to a sword as he dashed. When he burst into the wider part of the alley, he saw a ghoul standing over a small blond boy, who already had blood seeping through his thin jacket and dripping down his face. Hefting his broadsword and charging, he swung hard, cracking the asphalt with the impact when the monster leaped out of the way.

The black haired boy faced his adversary calmly, only to falter when he realized who it was.

Large carmine and violet wings, pulsing with ferocious intensity, stretched behind the figure of a fairly tall boy with a purple butterfly mask fitted neatly over his face. Red and black eyes burned under the surface of the shiny insect wings making up the mask, and a cold, flat slash of a mouth stretched across his face, droplets of blood clinging to it surreptitiously.

Butterfly. Sousuke flinched under his gaze, but he gathered his wits enough to tell the ghoul’s unfortunate victim, “Run! Seek help from the nearest investigator while I handle this!”

Blondie had the audacity to pout as if he wanted to stay and watch, but he obediently scrambled to his feet and bolted. Butterfly snarled and fired a wave of crystallized kagune at his retreating back, forcing Sousuke to leap in the way and hold his broadsword in such a way that took the brunt of the impact. Some of the shrapnel dug into his leg and sliced his arms, making him wince. Blood trickled down his arms and legs.

“Damn it!” Butterfly cursed, whirling around and fleeing in the opposite direction. Sousuke paused in surprise, wondering what the hell he was doing before his legs started working again, and he took off in pursuit. He pulled out his phone with blood soaked fingers while he ran and jammed a button that would send a call for backup and his coordinates to his squad. At least if Sousuke died tonight, he’d be found.

The ghoul ripped up a grate and jumped down into the sewers, and without pausing to think, the teal-eyed boy followed him down.

* * *

While he followed, he’d tripped at least twice and fallen into jagged shards of broken skeletons and rocks, splashed through frigid and disgusting water, and run into what he hoped was just a stalagmite. Sousuke was almost more injured from that than from the kagune bits the SS class had fired at him earlier. In short, this was a mistake, and he desperately wanted to go home.

The slime streaked walls of the sewers seemed to press in on him, and he swore he saw flashes of red eyes behind other grates. Sousuke shuddered; this place was completely unsafe and he wasn’t even sure where he was going. A loud crash sounded from behind a corner, and the investigator swallowed hard. He wasn’t normally this scared on missions, but since Butterfly was SS class, this was the moment of truth.

Sousuke rounded the corner, and a fist was promptly flung into his face. Staggering back from the impact caused him to drop his large Quinque into a puddle. He gasped when a solid kick smashed into his stomach and threw him down after his Quinque; it knocked the wind out of him. The frigid water seeped into his clothes and wounds, making him hiss in shock.

Before he knew it, the other had a hand fisted in his shirt and had dragged him up. Black and red eyes bore threateningly into his own, and he couldn’t hide a flinch. Strong as Sousuke was, he was far outclassed here. He was going to die.

“Never get in our way again, little investigator. You’d do well not to interfere with Shark, Ribbon, Crescent, and I.”

Butterfly daintily lifted him high and slammed him into the rough stone wall, once, twice…

...then all Sousuke saw was black.

* * *

Makoto wondered why he kept hearing whispers of Yamazaki Sousuke’s name in hushed and unsure conversations around CCG headquarters the next day. While he rushed mail and files around the large building and delivered dubious packages, it was the only thing that stood out to him. Everyone looked so solemn too; it was unnerving. He could only hope something horrible hadn’t happened. Maybe he’d gotten chewed out by Mado, and everyone was just sympathetic?

The green eyed boy had no idea what had happened until he ended up in an elevator with part of the small group from before, the ones who had insulted the Quinx and Sasaki Haise.

“You know how we complain about Yonebayashi and her complete inability to get out of bed, and then that weak ass Mutsuki? You won’t believe Mikoshiba’s squad’s fuck up, then.” The tall blond boy scoffed. He folded his arms and curled his lip in a fairly impressive sneer. “That’s the best display of incompetence I’ve ever seen, for sure.”

“Can’t believe it,” The black haired one agreed, his sharp cobalt eyes filled with irritation. “I think even this dumbass,” here he roughly nudged a half asleep orange haired boy with his knee. “Could’ve done better.”

“What did they do?” Makoto found himself asking. Odd protectiveness welled up in him; Sousuke was plenty competent. He wouldn’t be alive otherwise!

“Well, they were assigned to go after the Animals, right? Shark, Butterfly, Ribbon or Python, and Crescent or Scorpion. So Yamazaki ran into the Butterfly attacking someone and chased after him, but he just ended up really badly injured in the sewers. Then the others showed up and let him get away.” Blue Eyes, Black Hair snapped. “We might only be in training, but we wouldn’t screw up to that extent. At least not with micro-manager ‘I’m so much better than you, Tobio-chan’ Tooru yelling at us for breathing wrong.” The last part was an interesting disgruntled whisper, but the other part of his monologue really pissed Makoto off.

“What do you know about him?! He saved my life! And clearly you’re doing something wrong if you’re stuck in training and he actually fights!” Makoto snapped hotly. Both boys looked taken aback, and the small orange haired one finally woke up after hearing his angry words.

The brown haired boy stormed out the instant the elevator opened, shaking with rage. What was wrong with them? They insulted everyone, apparently, no matter how hard they’d tried. Besides, if he remembered correctly, both Shark and Butterfly from the Animals were SS class. Higher ranked people would’ve struggled with them!

Makoto promptly resolved to go visit Sousuke in the hospital. He’d bring some nice flowers too.

* * *

After stopping at a nice flower shop where the florist had hair exactly like the sunflowers Makoto ended up buying, he made his way to the CCG’s private hospital. With a soft, polite inquiry to the small woman at the front desk, he managed to get Sousuke’s room number and made his way up the stairs. Makoto had had enough of meeting horrible people in elevators to last him quite a while.

Upon quietly slipping into the investigator’s room, he was promptly greeted with the teal-eyed boy’s squad chattering. Sousuke himself was either asleep or trying to ignore them, and no one could fault him for that.

“-didn’t even know they were called the Animals? No one told me Ribbon and Crescent were called Python and Scorpion too, anyway!” Kumiko, the girl with the cleaver, whined. 

“Kumiko, who the fuck cares about what they’re called? No offense, but I still have a damn hangover because we were drinking last night, and that’s why Sousuke got smashed- INTO A WALL. No wonder even the recruits are calling us incompetent! We’re gonna get kicked out of the CCG, and when that happens, WE’RE DEAD.” Kisumi retorted, flipping his pink bangs out of his eyes. He groaned miserably and hunched over.

Seijuro sighed in response. “Kisumi isn’t wrong, you know. We made a mistake. A lot of mistakes, actually. I don’t know why they left us assigned to this case because I really don’t think we can do it. They say Shark is far more powerful than Butterfly, that the Black Rabbit respects him. And with two SS Class ghouls to hunt, our lives have to start getting serious.”

_Oh, this is a bad time…_ Makoto tried to creep out of the room, but he tripped over thin air and fell over.

The squad turned to him as one, surprise clear on their faces, and all the brown haired boy could do was sheepishly hold out the bouquet and say, “Er, I brought Yamazaki-san flowers?”

* * *

The Mikoshiba squad awkwardly shuffled out to let Makoto have a little time with Sousuke, who looked rather dazed and exhausted. His skin was littered with bruises and cuts, and his head was bandaged quite thoroughly. The paperboy ached a little just looking at him.

“So, uh… sunflowers? Why those?”

“Honestly, I had just found out, so I rushed to go get flowers, and the shop I went to had a cashier with hair like a sunflower. And they mean long life and are bright?” Makoto hurriedly explained. “If you don’t like them, I could get hydrangeas or roses or a darker flow-”

“Whoa, whoa, I didn’t say I didn’t like them. It’s just not a flower people normally give investigators. Although I heard Sasaki likes them a lot, and he hates red flowers, particularly lycoris. We get weird about flowers when we see them all the time for… condolences.” The black haired boy responded, wincing slightly.

“Well, bringing you something was the least I could do after what you did for me. I know it was part of the job, but I’m still really grateful.”

Sousuke opened his mouth to respond, but he paused halfway through, furrowing his brow. “Actually, if you want to repay me… there is something you could do. You’re officially CCG, right?”

“Yes?” He confirmed, tilting his head in confusion. Why would he ask that?

“This job might be a little dangerous, but it’s just intel… Could you possibly go to a few locations and check  them to see if there are ghouls in the area? I only need a few reports. Of course, that’s way too much to request; I’d understand if you told me to shove my head up my ass, or something.”

Makoto bit his lip, considering. On one hand, this could wind up with him dead. And it was totally terrifying. On the other, he’d get a cut of the squad’s profits from bringing down the Animals, which would go far in helping the twins. And ghouls would be off the streets and away from helpless people, like his little family. Even if he was terrified and a chicken, he could manage this, couldn’t he?

“Okay. Where do I need to go?” He asked. _Haru can take care of Ren and Ran if I fail, I’m sure._

The injured man brightened and told him everything he needed to know. The way he did it made Makoto think maybe he was doing the right thing, and everything would work out just fine.

Then he got the text from Nagisa saying, **“lmao mako-chan you won’t believe but i almost died last night haha it was great,”** and his soul about left his body.

* * *

Nagisa loitered in the little coffee shop, happily sipping at his frappe. Makoto hadn’t responded to his text, which ticked him off a little (he could see the read symbol quite clearly, dammit). The workers all seemed more irritated than normal, and he couldn’t help but wonder if something had happened.

“Rei-chan!” Nagisa called, wincing when the motion pulled at a cut on his cheek. _Ouch, ouch._ “Did something happen? You all seem mad.”

The blue haired boy growled something under his breath that sounded like “You happened!” before he shrugged and answered, “Bad night.” His faux-pleasant voice had a threat running under it, and behind him, Rin glanced over his shoulder and glared. The redhead’s hand tightened around the cloth he was wiping the table with when he returned to cleaning.

The blond narrowed his eyes, suspicious. “What did I do, Rei-chan? Surely I can’t have pissed off everyone who works here, hm?” The metaphorical gears in his mind were quickly turning. He knew he irritated that barista, had ever since Rei had broken that penguin charm and demanded money. But although Rin rolled his eyes at him a lot, he’d never been outright hostile and both Gou and Nitori were fairly friendly. Something seemed to have changed overnight.

“Bad night, Hazuki-san,” Rei repeated, violet eyes narrowing in a way that screamed anger. Nagisa raised his hands in surrender, suddenly downcast. He knew he was hard to get along with sometimes, but that kinda hurt. His sugary drink soured when he took another sip.

Before he could get too upset, the door burst open, and Makoto ran in, looking frantically around until he found his childhood friend. Nagisa only had time to stutter out a greeting before he was hugged very tightly, and the giant teddy bear was crying all over him. The rose-eyed boy wondered why before he remembered the text. I probably should’ve worded that text better…

“Mako-chan, I’m fine! I’m not dead or dying, so don’t worry.”

Just after he finished his sentence, he was sure a glass shattered in the kitchen.

_Bad day, alright. What is with everyone?_

At that moment, Haru entered the shop with canvases tucked securely under his arm, and the mood lightened immediately. If Rin had been a puppy, his ears would’ve perked up, at least with the way he jolted and whirled to face the door. His eyes brightened when he saw what Haru was carrying.

“Finally, Nanase!” Rin crowed. “Show me what you got!” He dropped his rag and bounded over to the blue-eyed boy, who sighed and set them on the table, unwrapping the bulky cargo.

“I did them mainly in reds, blacks, and browns. Well, except this one- that’s essentially dark blue, but you don’t need to use it.” The artist rattled off, pointing at each piece as he talked. Rin looked over the paintings with undisguised interest and happiness. Nagisa and Makoto blinked in surprise; Haru either hadn’t realized they were there, or he was outright ignoring them.

_So Rin-chan catches all his interest, hm? Funny..._

“These are fucking amazing, Haru, holy shit! We’ll hang them up tonight, I guess. Oi, Rei, come look at these!” Rin called, prompting the blue haired boy to re-emerge from the kitchen.

Nagisa decided he might as well alert Haru to his and Makoto’s presence. “Haru-chan, can we see too?”

Haru started at the sound of his voice, nearly flipping over one of his works in the process. Rin snorted at his reaction, amusedly motioning to where the other two boys were. Nagisa waved sarcastically, and Makoto stammered out a hello.

“Nagisa? What happened?” Haru asked, disregarding his greeting. He frowned and ghosted over to Nagisa, inspecting the bandaged wounds on his face in worry.

“Oh, nothing really, I just got attacked by a ghoul. And it was REALLY COOL!” Nagisa chirped, bouncing over to the black haired boy. “I think it was that one they call Butterfly! He was really beautiful, actually!”

No one noticed Rei reddening in surprise and hiding behind Rin, who scoffed in shock. “Dude, are you missing the part where you almost died? What about that excites you?”

“I thought I told you guys before! Ghouls are really interesting! I was in the area because I heard there was a kagune market, and there actually was, but I didn’t have enough money to buy anything. So I started to leave, and then this ukaku showed up. His wings were so cool, like, they looked like feathers made of galaxies! And then he almost killed me, but that’s okay.”

Everyone stared at him like whatever sanity he’d had left had gone and fucked off into the sunset, and Nagisa laughed.

* * *

Rin snickered, watching Rei nervously flutter around his apartment. It was pretty obvious he was thinking about what happened earlier. “You look kinda fucked; you okay?”

As predicted, the blue haired boy exploded. “WHAT KIND OF LOGICAL FALLACY IS THAT?! WHAT KIND OF PERSON LOOKS AT SOMEONE WHO ALMOST KILLED THEM AND CALLS HIM BEAUTIFUL?” He grabbed Rin by the shoulders and shook him, eyes wild. “What is wrong with him?”

“I dunno, maybe he’s into ghouls.” The redhead shrugged and heavily plopped on the couch. “Not my problem- he’s all yours. In whatever way. Hey, maybe he’ll let you kill him now! Since your kagune is soooo pretty.”

Rei growled in frustration and stormed out. Rin didn’t fail to see the blush on his cheeks as he did.

With his apartment now free of panicking ghouls, Rin turned his thoughts to the artwork Haru had handed over to him. God, those paintings were beautiful. Haru was pretty beautiful, actually. Although, he reasoned suddenly angry with himself, that probably wasn’t a thought he should be having. He should think “Haru upheld his end of the bargain well!”

_It’s not as bad having him there as we expected. He doesn’t notice anything off, he works pretty well, and he’s… fun. I love teasing him, actually. And being around him. Hopefully, just because he smells really good. God, am I having a gay crisis? Is that what’s happening? Ugh._

Rin flopped face first into the dingy couch, sighing. He was tired and bored; Rei had stormed out, and Gou was off trying to find Seijuro, so she could get rid of him. Just when he was about to go ask Nitori to spar with, his phone buzzed, screen lighting up the dim room easily.

**Unknown Number: is this rin??**

**Rin: Who the hell is asking?** Quickly, he ran through the list of people he didn’t know who might have his number. It was incredibly short, which sent alarms off in his brain. They continued to ring until the mystery person answered again.

**Unknown Number: it’s haruka.**

The ghoul groaned in relief, quickly typing Haru’s name into his phone and creating the contact. That had the potential to be a mess.

**Rin: Well, hey. Where’d you get my number?**

**Haru: nagisa made friends with gou. i asked him to get your number from her.**

**Rin: Fair enough. What’s up?**

**Haru: the sky.**

**Rin: Fuck off.**

**Rin: No, really though, something wrong?**

**Haru: just kinda alone. nagisa ran off again. and makoto’s at his job.**

The rinkaku paused, taking in the gravity of the text. Haru was alone, and his first thought was, “Let’s text Rin.” Something warm and fuzzy settled in his stomach, even if he knew the human was by himself, and that part worried him. Another text lit up the screen.

**Haru: i didn’t know who else to ask. didn’t mean to bother you though.**

The red eyed boy bit his lip, and before he could stop himself, his fingers tapped out a reply.

**Rin: Want me to come over?**

**Haru: sure.**

_Here I go getting myself into things, again._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tell me what you thought? Thanks for reading this surprisingly large update~
> 
> I don't know what the fuck is going on!!1! *jazz hands* Send help!
> 
> Also, apologies for randomly throwing in characters from another fandom (and making them assholes), orz. I didn't know who else to use.
> 
> Double extra bonus points if you know who the person running the flower shop is! The update gave me so much hope. Watch Ishida-sensei smash it to pieces :)


	13. Interlude- Gou's Crisis (Alt- Author Crawls Out of Her Grave With Half a Chapter in Hand and Thinks It's Acceptable)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There's sin. Sin. I'm sorry. It's not even explicit, but it's hella there. If you don't wanna any of that in your life, lemme know in the comments, and I'll give you a breakdown.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *collapses on the floor, doesn't get up*
> 
> It's. Been almost two months. Holy shit. I'm so, so, sorry! My life got in my way- I was bitch slapped with work, and I pretty much drowned in deadlines. I also haven't had inspiration for ANYTHING lately, not even BS poetry.
> 
> You guys have been super patient with me, and for that I'm really grateful! When I update next (because this is just a messy filler that throws sin to SeiGou shippers- SOBS), there will be more plot, and my goal is anywhere from 3k-6k words.
> 
> Thank you for waiting, and for 249 kudos! I apologize for being an unreliable author, but life is an asshole... It will be exactly two months since my last update in nine days, which is why I decided to offer something as a token until the RH swims in. I will do my best to make sure it won't take this long next time.

Gou was supposed to be trying to “find” Seijuro. Suffice to say she had found him.

“Ahh!” Another little cry burst from her throat as he rocked his hips upward, meeting hers as she bounced. Her loose wine red hair curled around her face, some strands sticking to her sweat dampened skin, as she lifted and dropped herself again. Seijuro’s hands gripped her hips so tightly she was sure he had left bruises, but come morning, they would be gone entirely.

She wondered if the burning ache in her chest would be gone too.

The orange haired boy groaned low in his throat, eyes pinning her where she perched astride his hips. Gou was a predator, and she knew hunger when she saw it, even if the kind burning in his gaze was entirely different than that of starved creatures. Bouncing a little faster and biting her lip hard, she squeezed her eyes shut. The heat pooling in her stomach was tightening, now, and the redhead was so **close** -

“God, Gou…” Seijuro growled. That was enough for her, and her breath stuttered as she came so hard her mind went entirely blank. Dimly, the ghoul felt her partner shudder and come inside her, gasping her name.

 _How did this… how did this happen, anyway…?_ Gou despaired, crashing down from her high. _I meant to-!_

** One Hour Ago **

_After some “research” and a little sweet talking, Gou had charmed herself all the way up to the investigator’s apartment, convincing herself that what she was doing was right the entire trip down the hallway. She worried her lip between her teeth, anxiety bubbling up within her._

_The plan she had was simple. She’d tell Seijuro she was responding to his past confessions at last, and while he was distracted by her seduction, she would behead him and bail out the window. At times like this, she could try being grateful for her sweet and soft appearance; it allowed her to get away with murder much more easily._

**_But I don’t… I don’t want to do this. Not really. The Shark said so, so the Python obeys.  
_ **

_She rang the doorbell and crossed her fingers behind her back._

_Seijuro opened the door without preamble, yawning and ruffling his messy hair carelessly. His entire face lit up with surprised happiness when he saw her, and the sight of it almost made Gou cringe. She would betray that undisguised joy in less than an hour._

_“Gou-san! What are you doing here?” The other asked, ushering her inside. His titian eyes twinkled as they were apt to when he hovered around her. As Momo had turned his attentions away from her and to Nitori, Seijuro's feelings had made themselves firmly known.  
_

_“Well, I had to discuss something with you.” The redhead chirped, smiling kindly. “It’s something I’ve… been putting off for a while.”  
_

_Seijuro tilted his head in confusion. “What do you mean?”_

_Gou took a deep breath, feelings churning messily inside her. This was going to get a little too honest now, because it was something that could’ve been wonderful. Wonderful, if only Seijuro was a ghoul, not a human who worked with the mortal enemy of Tokyo’s monstrous underbelly._

_Or wonderful if she was human too._

_“Um… Seijuro-san… I want to respond to your confession from a while ago!” She exclaimed.  
_

_The boy looked extremely taken aback, a pleased and embarrassed flush blooming across his face. Her eyes tracked the path of the slowly creeping red, admiring the way the blood rose to the surface of his pale flesh. It was morbid, utterly disgusting, for her to think such a thing at this time, but she couldn’t help it._

**_This is why they call us monsters._ **

_Seijuro stammered and floundered for a second, incoherently pleased. “And?” There was hope seeping through that voice, piercing Gou’s lying, fucked up heart with ease._

_“I like you too.” The ghoul mumbled, hiding her face in the sleeves of her red cardigan. That part, at least, was a truth she’d managed to admit. It was probably because she’d been watching her brother flail over the artist that had raced him enough to realize that maybe she had a little more interest in Seijuro than she would in a friend or piece of meat._

_The investigator honest to god squeaked. Gou raised her head, peeking through her mussed bangs to view his expression. He was thrilled, obviously, but Gou wasn’t expecting the tender emotion in his eyes._

**_No. I don’t want to see that. Don’t look at me like I’m a precious, innocent, human girl when I’m fil th y._ **

_To stop him from giving her that face, she skipped up to him and stood on her tip toes, gazing up flirtatiously before pressing a soft kiss to his mouth. His hands automatically reached to settle on her waist as she kissed him harder, reaching up to twist her hands into his fluffy hair._

_When they pulled apart, the boy was stuttering helplessly. “I. Um. Wow, Gou-san, that was…”_

_“Really nice?” Gou answered, feeling her own blush. It_ had _been nice, feeling someone’s mouth against her own, feeling sparks race across her skin._

_“Yes.” He confirmed as he idly played with the tendrils of soft red hair spilling down her shoulders. She hid a cringe, still loathing that sweet, tender look he gave her. No matter how much she enjoyed his kindness, she couldn’t let it continue here. All it would do was distract her._

_“Can we take this... further?” the ghoul chirped. She knew he would understand what she was implying, and she knew it was against his nature-_ both their natures _\- to rush things like this, but she needed this to be over. Otherwise, she'd have even more regrets.  
_

_“Are you sure?” Seijuro questioned. “I don’t want to rush you.”_

_“But I’m the one rushing things.” Gou replied, gazing up at him with hooded eyes. “I’ve been imagining it too, Seijuro-kun.”_

_The girl was fairly sure the abrupt change in honorific convinced him. Before she could back away, before he could stop to consider what was happening, they stumbled into his small bedroom and tumbled into his bed. Hands tugged off clothes haphazardly, tossing them onto the floor, and Gou tried to keep her emotions in check._

When it ended, she curled into his chest, attempting to stop panicking. It had felt good. She was happy. But he wasn’t dead, and that was the problem. Rin was going to kill Seijuro himself when he found out about this, and then berate her endlessly, like she was a child. No child killed people, no child plotted murder, and no child failed this miserably at reaching their frivolous goals, but she'd always be a baby to her brother.

“I could die happy right now,” the investigator mused blearily, interrupting her self-depreciating thoughts. He seemed half asleep already, orange eyes drifting shut. In fact, he probably hadn't even realized what he’d said, and he wouldn’t remember it when he woke up.

Gou tensed in shock and horror. Her koukaku bunched up under the pale skin of her back, and she lay frozen until he’d completely sunk into unconsciousness.

 _he wants to die he even said it he would taste good killkillkiLL_ **KILL** _-_ Thoughts bounced in her mind in a frenzied cacophony that deafened and drowned her, reaffirming her previous thought. She was a fucking monster; how could she have let this happen? This hadn't been the plan.

When she was sure he was asleep, she scribbled out a mess of an apology note on the back of a takeout receipt and exited through the window, finally letting her tears escape.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gratitude and apologies in spades, my lovelies. ;A; And there is art for this trash fic, too. On the blog of @coffeetyphoon resides a small gift. http://coffeetyphoon.tumblr.com/post/141402438684/a-long-time-ago-i-told-snuffery-i-would-draw-her 
> 
> Chibi RH babies! Enjoy that too~
> 
> Another apology- this is unbeta'd (my two usual are offline, orz). Feel free to tell me I'm a piece of shit in the comments (because I am, lmao; wtf even is this, and why am I posting it).


	14. This Chapter Played "Fuck You" By Lily Allen to Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There is some gore, so be careful, I guess?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FUCK!! FUCK!! I DON'T KNOW, AND I LIED, THIS IS LIKE 1200 WORDS, AND I'M S O R R Y. I'LL PUNCH MYSELF FOR YOU.
> 
> Look, I fly out of the country tomorrow, and I'm so very tired. Probs no WiFi for almost a month. I love you, you're great, and I gotta crash bc I need to wake up again at 2AM to make it to the airport.
> 
> The formatting on this has a 98% chance of being 50 shades of fucked up, I'm so sorry.

Rei often found himself wandering through the cemetery closest to where he lived.

It wasn’t necessarily a morbid thing he was doing- the cemetery was just one of the most peaceful places in Tokyo. It was quiet; the air carried with it the weight of respect. Here was one of the many places where the bustling city paid silent homage to those that had passed on. In death, ghouls and humans were alike, after all.

The tall gray graves, stacked up like lego blocks in a child’s tower, were frigid to the touch. They bunched up close together in the grass, dotted with flowers and splashes of kanji, and as he meandered through them, Rei kept his head bowed. Mussed locks of deep blue hair swung into his eyes while he slipped through the reaching walls of gravestones.

Rei stopped at a particularly large monolith when he heard a soft, familiar voice sadly echoing.

“-Nami-nee, you know, I’m closer to making Quinques than ever. I’ll be CCG soon,” the voice murmured conversationally. Rei frowned and cautiously peeked around the corner.

There, sitting cross-legged in front of a grave, was Hazuki Nagisa.

His overly-cheery demeanor was entirely subdued, and his breath made little white puffs in the cool night air. There was a bunch of fresh sunflowers sitting on the grave he spoke to, bright in the wake of dull browns and grays. It matched the color of the small human’s hair but certainly not his somber expression.

“And I keep thinking- I keep thinking, ‘if Nami-nee had a Quinque that day, not just a practice sword, maybe she could’ve won,” Nagisa sniffed, his voice cracking in the center of his sentence. “That’s all that keeps pushing me- I just want people to be able to fight for themselves. I’m not saying that ghouls shouldn’t live too, but… they have their weapons already. We have to make ours if we want to live…”

Rei watched in surprise and horror, pieces fitting together. The ghoul couldn’t help but remember the details of a certain incident- Rin had been so enraged that those ghouls were encroaching on their new territory, he had started the fight that had marked them as some of the most terrifying ghouls in their ward and its surrounding area.

**4 Years Earlier**

**Rin stormed into Rei’s tiny apartment with sheer anger bubbling in his eyes. The door slammed shut behind him, rattling violently in its wooden frame as it did.**

**Rei turned to him passively, tugging himself away from his textbook. “What is it, Matsuoka-san? I’m busy studying, so if you’re here for a fight or to bumble around my home, I won’t be pleased.”**

**“It’s not you I want a fight with,” the older teen snarled. “You know we’ve been trying to carve out territory?**

**“I’ve been instrumental in it, so yes,” the violet-eyed boy replied dryly. As if he could forget the ridiculous amount of times Rin had dragged him outside at night to chase the weaker ghouls away or hunt the filthier humans. He set his book aside, watching Rin grind his sharpened teeth together in irritation.**

**When Rin’s teeth shifted from normally straight to jagged like that, it was a very bad sign.**

**“There’s a group of bastards who have started hunting here. In our ward!” the redhead finally burst out.**

**Rei paused in the middle of pushing up his glasses. He narrowed his eyes, slowly looking toward his furious friend. “Really, now,” he murmured, soft and dangerous. “I thought we made the point with the Koukaku on a Stick incident.”**

**“Yeah, me fucking too, but I guess not. Tonight, let’s go teach them a goddamn lesson.”**

**Shoving aside his books was easier than he thought. “Consider my schedule cleared- let me get my mask.”**

* * *

**It was frigid outside.**

**Rei huffed in irritation as he and Rin- rather, Shark- leapt from rooftop to rooftop. Apparently, the older boy had scented one of the enemy some buildings back, as well as a strong smell of human blood, so they at least knew where they were going. The ukaku still regretted his decision to venture out into the cold, though.**

**“There, straight down!” Rin hissed, grabbing his arm. Rei promptly wrenched the appendage out of his bruising grip and stared into the street.**

**The first thing he saw was the blood, streaming from the carnage in tiny streams. It trickled sideways over the frozen black street and spilled into the gutters. The second thing he noticed was the shattered wooden sword, a bokken from kendo training, lying in two pieces on the ground.**

**The third thing he noticed was the tufts of curled blond hair splayed over a detached head, faintly glowing in the moonlight.**

**“What on earth-” Rei gasped. Rin scoffed, brushing his bangs back.**

**“Please don’t tell me you’re not used to gore; I might just take off your head for it. They killed some human. Or humans, I don’t know- can’t you see them over there? They’re eating.”**

**Rei resisted the urge to fling the rinkaku off the building and instead cast his eyes to the alleyway opposite them. A small group of ghouls ravenously ripped apart the corpse the head had most likely belonged to.**

**“Well. We should be interrupting their dinner date, hm?” the blue-haired ghoul murmured, spreading his wings.**

**The human’s grisly murder made the front page of the papers the next day, but he and Rin had been more occupied scraping organs off the spikes of their kagune; they’d taken care of their enemies.**

He leaned back against a statue, realization dawning on him. That blond head, the smashed practice sword- the human who’d been killed was Nagisa’s sister, the one who most likely quietly rotted underneath the earth a few feet away from him. Watching the tiny blond wipe tears off his cheeks gently tugged something in the tall ghoul’s heart.

_I can’t help but understand something like that, especially when other ghouls killed my brother._

_Maybe… I should try being a little less harsh with him, annoyance or not._

* * *

 The next morning, Nagisa bounded into Samezuka with a desperate thirst for an espresso.

“Rei-chan!” he called, knowing it would piss the taller boy off to hear it. To the rose eyed boy’s utter surprise, Rei didn’t react badly, instead flitting over with a wan smile on his face.

“Cupcake frappe?” he asked, his voice a perfect blend of kind and utterly disinterested. Nagisa blinked.

“Um, no, espresso, please. I’m exhausted,” he mumbled, bewildered. “I’m really tired.”

“No problem,” the barista answered, bustling around to make the drink.

_He didn’t insult me? Or snap at me? What is this?_

“Uh, Rei-chan? You good there?” Nagisa prodded. “That’s you and not some doppleganger, right?”  
  
Rei passed him the espresso with a slight frown on his face. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“You’re being nice. To me. That’s not a thing you do, not since the charm thing,” the blond pointed out.

He hesitated, an almost pained expression twisting his face. “I’ve realized I have not been the most… cordial with you. For that, I apologize.”

“Why now?” Nagisa sniffed, but he was more than curious. Rei was suddenly making an effort to be less of a douche?  Really?

“Because you are Nanase-san’s friend, and he is my coworker now,” Rei said begrudgingly.

Nagisa had to hide a smile. Despite all the dumb things he did, he wasn’t stupid.

There was something else there.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tell me what you thought, or sign up to beat the shit out of me. I'm down for either.
> 
> Thank Nameless_Thunderhead, bc they're the only reason you even got this update (sorry, Andy, hun, you weren't quite fast enough).
> 
> I love you, you're so patient with the piece of shit called me. :* Pick a $20 off the ground, 'kay?


	15. surprise, bitch, bet you thought you'd seen the last of me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is one of the gayest things I've ever written, and it isn't even explicitly gay. Amazing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *steps up to mic, clears throat*
> 
> Picture me walking around a very dark, precarious house. This house is my mind, and one floor is full of doors. These doors all lead to fic, whether finished, WIPs, or ideas. 
> 
> While I was looking at the newest and shiniest door, one labeled IADA with the big Voltron robot on the front, I tripped down a flight of stairs like the disaster I am. After this painful tumble, I crashed through a decaying door, covered with cobwebs and long forgotten. Before I could get out, the door fixed itself, and I was trapped in the room of... HFU.
> 
> (This is me saying I'm working on this fic again! It went on hiatus last year for NaNoWriMo, but now I'm doing it as my 2k16 NaNo! I'm sorry I left for so long- in that time I became gayer, went to Germany, got addicted to K-Pop, started a Voltron fic, and cried a lot. Thank you for your patience and 294 kudos. I hope during this month, this fic will be fulfilled for those of you who are still here.)

Rin shuffled his feet nervously on the rug, waiting for Haru to come back with a cup of coffee. While he’d been in the apartment before, this time was entirely different.

This time, he was going to stay a while.

_Oh my god, I can’t believe he texted me to keep him company- and I AGREED. What can I even say? “Oh, hey, how’s the weather? So, heard about the ghoul murders? Damn, you’re really attractive, and I feel really fuckin’ annoyed with myself for thinking so!”_

“Here,” Haru muttered. He placed two steaming mugs of coffee on the table and plopped down on the recliner close to Rin. “I left it black for you, even though you strike me as the kind of person who would want to overdose on sugar.”

“Hey, I’m not Hazuki,” Rin protested, easily falling back into the cycle of snide comments and answering retorts. “I happen to hate anything other than black coffee.” _Mostly because I literally can’t drink it._

“Good for you,” Haru answered blithely.

Rolling his eyes, the redhead took a sip and hummed pleasantly. The black haired boy really was good at making coffee; it made perfect sense that he’d gone to work at Samezuka. He set the cup down and sneaked a glance at Haru.

Rin’s companion was curled up in the recliner, half hidden in the warm cashmere of a giant white sweater. He stared into his mug with an unconscious pout on his face, blue eyes squinting in the face of clouds of steam. Sighing, Rin leaned back on the plump cushions behind him and studied him. Haru was so cute. The ghoul desperately wished that he weren’t human; if only he was a ghoul, they could have a chance.

“Is there something on my face?” A light voice floated over to him. Startled, Rin looked up and met Haru’s eyes. The jibe made him blush- he’d evidently been caught staring like a starstruck fangirl in the face of her idols.

“No, no, I just zoned out. I’m tired because of classes.”

Haru raised an eyebrow. “I didn’t even know you went to classes. Although it makes sense… it’s not like you would use a college’s pool for no reason.”

“I mostly go for night classes,” Rin explained. “If I even go at all. I have to run Samezuka, so that’s my main priority.” He paused for a moment, considering. “Actually, all the workers go to school. We just go at night and rearrange schedules for tests and shit.”

“Hm, that just sounds stressful. When do you sleep?”

“I don’t?” Rin replied. If he thought about it, he honestly didn’t. Between attending classes, working, and feeding, Rin never really got the chance to rest. Due to his ghoulish nature, though, exhaustion didn’t really affect him until he stopped feeding.

Haru gazed at him unblinkingly. “You need to sleep. Put the caffeine down and go to sleep.”

“I thought you wanted me to talk to you! Let’s talk or something,” Rin retorted playfully. “What, you think we can just have a conversation in theory? Go swimming in theory?”

“I wanted company, not necessarily conversation,” the black haired boy sniffed. “But that’s alright. What do you want to talk about?”

“You,” Rin blurted without thinking.

Haru blinked. Pushing his cup aside, he shrugged at Rin’s ridiculous answer. “I’m not a very interesting person. What do you even want to know?”

“I dunno, like, what else do you like doing in your spare time?” Rin questioned. “You can’t just paint, swim, and go to class. I can tell you about me too, if you want.”

“That makes up the bulk of what I do; I can’t say otherwise. I do like to cook, I guess. But the water is where I feel at home.”

“Maybe you were a mermaid in a past life,” the ghoul joked. “So you’d be fish food now.”

Haru sniffed again, even more condescending this time. “I’m human. Aren’t I already food?”

 _OKAY, that’s too close to home._ Rin winced. “Well, I dunno, you’re more likely to run into crazy sea life in Japan. It’s an island, after all.”

“There are ghouls in Tokyo, in this ward,” Haru pointed out. “You can’t pretend you’re ignorant of the news when all the high profile murder cases these days are about ghoul fights.”

 _That’s fair,_ Rin thought begrudgingly. “I just don’t often think of ghoul attacks. How likely is it to happen, anyway? I think I’d lose in a butterfly race first.”

Haru let the topic change immediately with the mention of swimming. “You seem too cocky when it comes to swimming. Race me again sometime.”

“Are you gonna prove me wrong?” He grinned. “What, you think you’re gonna win by a mile like you always did in high school?”

“Did you search my records or something?” The blue eyed boy took his empty coffee cup to the sink as he spoke, rolling his eyes. “There’s no other way for you to know that.”

“Nah. Remember you told me that Nagisa and Gou made friends? She’s not the only one that’s been talking. Apparently, Hazuki is really impressed with your swimming; he wouldn’t shut up about it for a solid twenty minutes. Gou had to give me a play by play of his play by play, although she got sidetracked by your team’s ‘very attractive muscles.’”

Sighing, Haru plopped back down in his recliner. He toyed with his sleeves, answering, “He’s been excitable since childhood. I don’t think he’s been calm a day in his life.”

“I don’t think Rei has been relaxed a day in his, so they’re a great match.” Rin cackled. Rei’s hatred of the tiny blond had simmered down into confusion and vague irritation sometime after the disastrous murder attempt. In fact, the redhead was sure it was the fastest his uptight kouhai had ever calmed down. If they were ever to become friends, it would be terrifying.

“He’s fairly amusing if you watch him too long,” Haru agreed. “Anyway, I think I’m in the mood to paint. Can I paint you?”

Rin pointed at himself like there was someone else in the room. “Me? Why?”

“Because I can,” the artist replied bluntly. “Also... I’m tired of painting nude female models and vases. My teacher went on a long tangent on how light and shadow play on different shapes, showed us some German exhibit called ‘Licht und Schatten,’ and forced us to draw all sorts of pointless exercises. We’re third year art students; if we don’t have a grasp of basic colors and shading, we should pick another major. It’s exhausting.”

“Aren’t you tired of a lot of things?” The rinkaku shot back cheekily. He had to hide his delight: Haru was finally talking to him freely. That previous speech was probably the most he’d ever said at once time.

Meanwhile, Haru rolled his eyes again and went to dig his art supplies out of a miniscule studio room. He emerged from the tiny room precariously balancing an easel, a huge set of watercolor paints, and a bundle of brushes loosely held together by fraying string in his arms. All the items looked well worn and loved; Haru truly was passionate about painting.

“Christ, we’re really doing this? Lemme finish my coffee,” Rin complained. He sipped it hastily as Haru flitted about, setting his supplies up in a disorderly manner.

“You had all that time to finish it, but instead you chose to talk my ear off. Priorities, Rin. It’s probably freezing cold now.”

“You know, iced coffee is a thing,” he snapped. Playing into Haru’s jabs always led to bickering more intense than he’d ever experienced with his sister or friends, but oddly enough, none of it was mean spirited. In fact, Rin was sure he could chance saying that the bickering was characteristic of their budding friendship, maybe even that it deepened their relationship.

_Wow, back up me, that’s excessive. Oh, look, the coffee’s done- now he’s gonna draw me. Is there a protocol for being drawn?  
_

Haru didn’t bother posing Rin, instead telling him to sit naturally and generally look in the same direction. Rin blinked and sprawled haphazardly across the couch, feeling his hair spill across his forehead.

“Adjust your clothes a bit. Make them look effortlessly stylish,” Haru instructed.

“Haru, I am in a checkered flannel, a tank top, and ripped jeans. I even threw on a beanie like one of those American emo kids. How the hell am I supposed to look stylish?”

“Move them!” the human groaned exasperatedly. He shuffled toward Rin and batted his flannel aside, making it sprawl across his stomach. “Either look awake and seductive, or go to sleep; I honestly can’t bring myself to care.”

“Seductive?” Rin mouthed to himself. His bewilderment was forgotten when Haru lifted a pencil and began to sketch out a rough draft of his work.

The artist became immersed in his work, entirely focused with the movement of graphite across canvas. His eyes only flickered to Rin once or twice before he returned to his piece.

In a similar vein, Rin lost himself in staring at Haru once more. He still remembered the first time he’d seen him, so many weeks ago. That first impression of beauty and elegance had yet to fade; rather, it had become imbued with Haru’s passion, constant exasperation, and strength.

_Can I Google “what do you do when you start falling for a human?” Is that a guide I need to pass around in Samezuka now? What’s happened to me, to all of us? It's gotta be something in the coffee...  
_

Unaware of the ghoul’s internal struggle, the human finally picked up a brush. With haphazard grace, he spattered paint around the sketch as a makeshift background, and then proceeded to paint in the main figure. Methodical strokes sent watercolors running over the light gray lines. Haru bit his lip, deciding to change colors and brushes in the same instant. It made no sense or difference to Rin, although it was fairly entertaining to watch. He couldn’t even see the full painting- just the motions of Haru’s pale hands and his myriad expressions.

“You should be a model,” he told Rin blandly, brush still caking layers of paint over his canvas.

“Should I?” Rin stammered. He nearly tripped over his words like an overzealous five year old. “I mean, would an agency even hire me?” _Seeing as I’m your everyday, average_ **_ghoul_** _, attractive or not._

“I meant for artists,” Haru clarified and cleaned his his brush in a mug of dirty water. Reddish drops till dripped from the end when he lifted it, so the blue eyed boy shoved it into a wad of napkins until it was completely clean. “You’re expressive, even when you’re trying to be motionless. It’s nice to practice with. The models in my class are so stiff; they get boring to draw over and over.”

_Literally what the fuck do I say to that, Haru, what the hell? What does “expressive” even entail? This is just my face!_

“Um, thanks, I guess. It’s good to know."

The artist shrugged dismissively, dipping his brush into a swirl of pink paints. “It’s just an observation. Don’t read too deeply into it.”

Rin internally screamed at the other boy’s words. _What the fuck, Nanase._

He missed Haru’s tiny smile, spreading slowly across his face while he splashed sakura petals over his painting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for patiently sitting through that gay, introspective disaster. I just wanted Haru to paint Rin, y'know? Your plot, angst, and violence will make a return soon~
> 
> I'm going to attempt setting this on an update schedule, kinda like IADA's weekly updates. But I have to get more comfy with writing RH again (I forgot in the wake of constant Klance, RIP). Stay tuned for that.
> 
> <3
> 
> (Will edit with Thunder's beta tomorrow; I'm tired as SHIT)


	16. the fuck is this

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *wanders in* Huh.
> 
> Okay, hello! Yes, yes, I'm sure you're all irritated once more and wondering where I've been. Truth is, I have been writing more of this, but I had to make a lot of edits. Like. A lot.
> 
> I typed something like "his carefree girl drooped into a smile" when I meant "his carefree grin drooped into a frown," so I'm sure you can figure out why I've taken a while.
> 
> Anyway! Thank you so much for 317 kudos! This puts HFU as my most successful fic, kudos wise. I'm eternally grateful for your support and patience with me, because I'm well aware I'm a lying piece of shit.

Makoto looked in the mirror. Neatly arranged hair, check. Tidy and clean cardigan, button-up shirt, and pants, check. Absolute terror, check!

_ This is fine, Makoto; everything is fine. You’re just doing some ghoul reconnaissance as a favor for the man who saved your life. You probably won’t die doing this. Probably. _

The green eyed boy buried his head in his hands. Dear lord, he wasn’t cut out for this. With a sigh, he forced himself to straighten and double checked his bag. He had the list of suspected coffee shops and other areas tucked in the front pocket, and writing materials were stowed in the second. His phone and chargers lay in a tangle of wires at the very bottom of the largest pocket, nearly crushed under his laptop, along with a few sweets his siblings had slipped him. Everything was in order.

He realized he had no more reason to stall and set out. The first stop, Mayday Coffeehouse, was only a few minutes away by bike ride.

Makoto entered the coffee place in marginally better spirits. It was slightly run down, nowhere near as homey as Samezuka, but the atmosphere was still warm and comforting. He ordered a latte and sat in the table closest to the door, ready to observe any atypical behaviors.

A twinge of excitement crept up on him. He could do this! 

 

…

 

Five more places, and the poor student was overloaded with caffeine and nowhere close to excited anymore. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, not in the actions of the patrons or the workers. Makoto rested his head on the brick wall outside his last stop and groaned. There were still names on the list, he was sure of it. Cringing, the brown haired boy tugged the papers Sousuke had given him out of their pocket and scanned them.

To his utter surprise, the next name on the list was Samezuka. 

Makoto froze in the middle of the street, icy fear trailing up his spine like the touch of a ghost. Samezuka was a suspected ghoul haven? But Nagisa went there all the time! And Haru, his oldest and closest friend, the person he now cared for like another brother, worked there! If there were ghouls in that shop, it became just as personal as when his house was attacked.

Brows furrowed in sad determination, Makoto hopped back on his bike and raced to Samezuka, praying for the best.

Samezuka was welcoming as always, its plain decor and muted chatter swirling around him as he entered. Makoto shuffled to a table, and Gou bounded to him a few seconds later.

Smiling, she pulled out a notepad. “Hello, what can I get you?”

“Um, some hot chocolate, please,” Makoto requested easily. He thought if he had any more caffeine, he would burst. His easygoing grin drooped into a frown as he watched her. Gou seemed happy at first glance, but something was slightly off. Her smile was stretched a little too tight, circles under her eyes were badly painted over with concealer, and she kept looking around, like she was searching for someone.

“Coming right up. Oh, and if you stay until two, your friend Haru will take over for me,” The redhead turned on her heel and began to walk away, but the CCG worker called her back. 

“Wait, Gou-san!”

She turned and blinked at him. The crowd around them glanced at his table upon hearing Makoto’s outburst, making him flush momentarily, but he barreled on. 

“Are you alright? You don’t seem… like your usual self. Is there anything I can do?”

“It’s kind of you to offer, but the mistake I made isn’t something anyone else can fix. I ruined things with a person I like and my brother on the same day,” Gou responded. “That person I care for… he usually stops by, and I haven’t seen him since those things happened. And Rin glares at me when I walk past. Everything has been destroyed, hasn’t it?”

A moment after her outburst, her mouth snapped shut. She looked like she regretted having spoken, but the damage had been done.

“Oh, Gou-san,” Makoto said hesitantly, reaching out to her. She hovered on the verge of tears.

“I’ll be fine, Tachibana-san. Nitori will make your drink.”

Gou swept away, and Nitori padded over with a steaming cup. He bit his lip and shook his head at Makoto, indicating that it was best to leave the red eyed girl alone.

Wincing, the investigator pulled out his notes and began writing. Just like before, nothing was out of the ordinary, nothing at all, and he began to wonder why he’d stopped by at Samezuka. He knew these workers, at least a little. Of course they weren’t ghouls.

The doorbell chimed again, soft ringing drawing Makoto’s attention to the door, and he watched Haru stumble in, followed by his friends. The blue eyed boy was quietly arguing with Rin; Nagisa skipped in behind them with a look of great amusement because of it.

“...telling you that your obsession with water is weird, Haru, weird! You can’t think waterfall magazines are the epitome of great reading!”

“Oh, so you think shoujo manga is better? You seem like the type of person who cares whether the main couple will really get together or not-”

“When did I ever say that? Of course I don’t like shoujo- that’s ridiculous!” Rin sputtered in response.

Gou walked by them, hoisting her bag higher on her shoulder. “He’s lying; he has all 13 volumes of Ao Haru Ride under his bed. He cried when it ended.”

“Oh, shut up, Gou,” Rin hissed, and Makoto could hear venom in his tone. Gou’s shoulders tensed. Nonetheless, she walked outside flippantly, pausing in the doorway to call, 

“People who want to be with you should know what they’re getting into, brother dearest.”

The girl let the door fall shut, leaving Rin staring through the glass with a partially bemused, partially furious expression. Not liking the feeling of watching a K-Drama, the brown haired boy turned back to his notes. He really didn’t have anything else to write; perhaps it was time for him to go.

“Oh, Makoto,” Haru suddenly murmured, apparently having noticed him. Makoto beamed when he floated over, motioning for him to sit.

“Hi, Haru! How are you?”

“Tired. I don’t really want to work, so keep talking to me. What’s all this?” the artist asked, fingers brushing over Makoto’s papers. “Stuff for your mysterious job?”   


Makoto heard the thinly veiled edge in Haru’s voice and sighed. He hadn’t been purposely keeping his work from his childhood friend; he just never found the time to tell Haru, and then he didn’t want to make the other worry, and then, and then… Too many things had gotten in the way. The thought made Makoto wince; he’d never hidden things from Haru before. Every fear he’d had, every bad test grade, every anxiety attack- Makoto had told Haru.

But not this. Not something truly important. And the gentle boy didn’t want Haru to find out in a news report detailing his unfortunate and untimely death.

“Haru, I work for the CCG,” he admitted. A weight lifted off his chest as the six words escaped him. “I’m sorry I never told you and Nagisa.”

The black haired boy stared at him. Makoto could almost see him trying to validate the statement in his mind, to connect his awkward, frightened childhood friend to the image of a hardened inspector. Before it got too far, Makoro backtracked.

“Not! Not as an actual investigator! Um, I think, I guess I’m an errand boy? Or a secretary? I don’t normally do field work like this.”

“Then why are you doing it now? And why here?” Haru pressed. His eyes narrowed. “Don’t tell me there’s a ghoul nearby.”

“It’s a favor for Yamazaki-san- I mean, Sousuke. He’s the investigator who saved my life, remember?”

Haru idly tugged on his sleeves. “He’s in the hospital, right? Or was. I heard something about it on the radio,” he paused to read the cramped writing. Makoto anxiously pulled his paper away, making Haru look at him with ire. “You didn’t answer my second question. Why?”

His blunt question directed Makoto’s gaze to the counter. Rin and Nitori were huddled together behind the smooth granite, looking perfectly innocent. Perfectly human. Makoto didn’t have a reason to be here.

“A routine check of coffee shops. They’re a suspect place for ghouls after another cafe, Anteiku- I think that’s the name, anyway- was found to be a ghoul haven. Nothing’s wrong with Samezuka, Haru, I promise.”

Looking small and vulnerable, Haru asked, “Why didn’t you tell me? I never knew where you were, and neither did Nagisa. He was getting worried and curious, but when he asked me, I had nothing to tell him,” pausing, he scanned the floor and toed at a clump of cake. “I always used to have answers to questions about you.”

Makoto bit back a gasp, hands anxiously fluttering out to Haru. “I’m sorry, Haru, I never meant to hide it! It just- there was never a time to tell you, and I couldn’t have you worrying over something that wasn’t important. And I wanted you to feel like you didn’t have to take care of me all the time, because I could even do scary things on my own. Even if I was terrified, I needed to prove that I could handle this.”

Silence sat between them. Other patrons’ babble wafted in and out, but nothing they said was as important as Haru’s answer. Makoto waited for his companion’s words with baited breath.

Haru pushed his chair back from the table and stood up. “Okay.”

“Wait, wait, is that it? Aren’t you going to-” the green eyed boy floundered. Years of reading his friend told him the artist was irritated, but knowing he was the reason why stung.

In a detached tone, Haru recited, “I don’t think there’s much else to say; you explained your side of the story.  _ Take care of yourself _ , I suppose. Oh, and if you make katsudon, please bring me some.”

Makoto watched Haru step aside, too far out of reach for him to catch, just like Gou had been moments before. But unlike Gou, Haru was  _ always _ farther away,  _ always _ moving forward, even if he was directionless. If Makoto slackened his grip for a second, if Makoto looked away, the boy would slip through his fingers like water.

He couldn’t let that happen here, upset as the barista was. 

Grasping at straws, Makoto blurted out, “Come back! I have one more thing to tell you!”

Haru drifted back over warily, saying, “Make it quick; I think I need to actually work.”

“Rin-san is angry with Gou-san, and I don’t know why, but she’s really upset. Can you possibly get them to work it out? Please? I don’t know her that well, but I still want to help,” he said in a rush.  _ Please don’t turn your back on me, not over this, Haru, I’m sorry- _

The waiter glanced at Rin and then out the door. “I’ll try. Keep Nagisa in check, okay? Both here and... at the CCG. He seems to be driving people up the wall lately.”

Haru left to change, and a few minutes later, Makoto gathered his papers and walked outside. The cold air nipped at his fingers, crawling underneath his clothes. The investigator shuddered, off balance and worried.

He felt oddly exposed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like something about this is a little off, but I'm really not sure what. I think I had an issue portraying Makoto's change in mood throughout the chapter, because he starts out scared and anxious, then becomes more confident, then gets worried, and finally ends up scared and anxious again. Argh.
> 
> Also, Haru isn't really angry with him; he just feels a bit upset that he was left out of the loop when it came to something important.
> 
> And lastly, I must say, Makoto, hun, you haven't seen shit yet.
> 
> Please leave some feedback if you wish- I'm thirsty. 
> 
> Also, I will put this on IADA's old update schedule, Sundays. Then it might finally get done.


	17. one of those suburban mom "coexist" stickers with the different religious symbols

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! Merry Christmas to those of you who celebrate it! And Happy Hanukkah to those who celebrate that, because it was yesterday! Not sure when Kwanzaa is, but Happy Kwanzaa as well~
> 
> Anyway, this chapter is really short, I'm aware, but it's crucial to fixing a fuckton of characterization issues. See, back when I was first writing this, I had no idea what the hell planned writing was, and it shows in how terrible this entire story is. Especially in the characterization. This chapter aims to solidify the characters, which will make the rest of the fic much better.
> 
> The chapter title is basically a fucking meme. I hate myself.
> 
> Thank you for 332 kudos! Your support is baffling, but not unwelcome.

Gou sat on the couch with her legs tucked underneath her and her kakugan flaring every few seconds. She could hear her brother pacing back and forth in the other room, and it made her anxiety palpable. What was he going to say? He hadn’t talked to her in so long, ever since her “assassination attempt,” but when he’d come home today, he’d suddenly demanded they have a conversation.

After five excruciatingly long minutes, Rin opened the door and barged in. He looked like a mess, hair falling into his eyes and mouth pinched in a uneasy frown. Gou narrowed her eyes at him and crossed her arms.

For a long moment, neither of them spoke. Instead, both ghouls chose to stare at each other critically. It didn’t take long for one to snap.

“What?” Gou finally barked, her panic spilling into the word. “What do you want? Now that you’re finally looking at me, anyway!"

“We probably need to talk about what happened,” he spat in return. If she was in a better mood, she likely would’ve scoffed and poked fun at how quick to anger he was. “You were supposed to kill that Mikoshiba, and then you come back smelling like- like sweat and sex-”

“Oh, what, you’re mad at me because I slept with him? I’m not your baby sister anymore; I can make my own choices!”

“It’s not just that! It’s the fact that you couldn’t control your damn hormones enough to finish a job!”

“How would you feel if I asked you to kill Haru, then?!” Gou shrieked, jumping off the couch. She stalked toward Rin in fury, grabbing his collar and dragging him down to her eye level. “I’m sure you couldn’t do it either- you’re not even subtle about your crush!”   


“This isn’t about Haru,” Rin argued. He wrenched her hands off him and shoved her aside. “It’s your problem!”   
  
“It’s the same principle. They’re humans we like,” The koukaku’s voice softened suddenly, trailing off toward the end of her statement. “I know it wouldn’t be easy for you to get rid of Haru just like that, so why can’t you see that’s what it’s like for me and Sei?”

The older ghoul turned away. For a second, he stared up at the ceiling, mouth twisting in irritation, before he answered, “Fine. I can understand, I guess. But still, you’re the one who got mad at me for letting him work at Samezuka. You asked me why I was keeping him around.”

“Because he was too close! Sei’s not that close!”

Rin threw up his hands. “He’s a member of the CCG, dammit! And he’s no small fry either! Haru’s a broke college student who paints pictures and has an unhealthy obsession with fish; they are not on the same level.”

“Okay, so then what about Nagisa, huh? He’s got a ghoul obsession, but you didn’t flip your shit with Rei when he fucked up his job.”

“Because that investigator got in the way!”

“And then what do you say about Nitori dating Momo?”

“He’s an idiot, isn’t he? He couldn’t figure out Nitori’s species if he was eating a severed arm in front of him!”   
  
“EXCUSES! If there’s one thing I can say about us Animals and humans, it’s that we’re fucking confused about them!” Gou exclaimed. She started to pace, wearing down the threadbare carpet in front of the couch. “All of us change our minds at the drop of a damn hat: first, we say ‘we’re going to kill them, we can’t let them get close, that’s too dangerous,’ and then the next second, we’re making all sorts of exceptions and not addressing our problems!”

Rin opened his mouth to argue, but then he froze.  His sister was right, he realized belatedly. All of them, save perhaps Nitori, were incredibly wishy-washy when it came to their stance on humans. He too could remember saying wildly conflicting things in regards to their safety and the humans they’d begun to interact with. Cringing slightly, he walked to the couch and sat down heavily. Gou perched next to him, drawing her knees up to her chin.

“Do you understand now, brother?” She asked quietly. “Maybe we shouldn’t be fighting at all.”

Gou knew Rin wanted to argue further, but he had nothing else to say. Her point had been made.

The rinkaku sighed and looked straight ahead, worrying his lip between pointed teeth. “Okay, okay. I’m sorry I was a dick to you, and that I ignored you like an asshole. And I can admit I was kinda more angry about your virtue than his failed death. Because. You know…”

“I know…?” She prompted with a shit eating grin. Rin pouted.

“I’m an overprotective big brother.”

She started cackling, sprawling over the couch and lightly kicking at him. The tension in the air, which had been steadily lightening throughout their conversation, dissipated entirely. “It was cute when I was five, maybe, but I’m too old for that now, alright? And virtue? What virtue, oh my god, I’m not innocent at all!”

Rin clapped his hands over his ears. “Nope! Not listening! Let me pretend!”

Gou snickered again. However, she sobered quickly, and Rin turned to her like he sensed it.

“What do we do now, then?” He asked. “I mean, about all the humans. We’ve figured out it should be all or nothing... so do we let them stay, or _make_ them go?"

“I think we should let them stay,” Gou said gently. She gazed out the large window the couch was facing, watching the glow of city lights filter in. “You know Sei is important to me. Momo is important to Nitori. Nagisa will worm his way into Rei’s heart whether he likes it or not-” this earned her a short laugh, which she couldn’t help but join in on. “And Haru’s most important to you, yeah, but he’s become an integral part of Samezuka.”

“Coexisting, huh…” the other ghoul mused. He too stared out the window, trying to pick out stars behind a haze of clouds and light pollution. “I think Mom would be proud.”

“She would,” Gou replied. “I really think she would.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As I said earlier, Happy Holidays! Have a nice week!
> 
> I guess next update will be Sunday, but I might try to be earlier, because I have a lot to do that weekend. Sorry this is a tiny chapter; I'll try to make them longer in the future. I hope you'll continue enjoying the story until its end, which I'm praying will come soon.


	18. soft screm

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, this is 1600 words of Nagisa, because Nagisa. Also, Juuzou shows up, because I love him. Aye.
> 
> Anyway, happy new year! I'm so glad 2016 has finally died. I am not glad that I have class tomorrow. My life is a mess.
> 
> Thank you for 340 kudos! I have no clue what you see in this story.

The next day, the atmosphere at Samezuka had shifted. 

Nagisa blinked in surprise when he walked in. Today, there was no odd tension between Rin and Gou, the very air seemed light and cheery, and most importantly, Rei was not glaring at Nagisa like he wanted him to die.

Suffice to say, Nagisa was completely content; he skipped forward with a bright grin on his face. Today was his first day of CCG internship, and it was already shaping up to be great. 

“Well, you seem happy,” someone chimed absentmindedly. Nagisa looked up, a bit startled, to see Rei staring at him with a raised eyebrow. The sight gave him pause- he had never seen Rei looking half so gentle before.

“I am! I start my internship today,” he replied. “You look happy too, Rei-chan. What happened?”

“Don’t call me that,” the taller boy responded, the rejection sounding more reflexive than conscious. However, there was no venom in Rei’s tone. He continued in a soft voice, “Rin and Gou worked out some issues, so I’m rather pleased. Do you want your cupcake frappe?”

“Please,” Nagisa wheedled. He leaned over the counter and tried to look cute. “I know you hate making it for me, but I really want one today.”

“I don’t hate or love anything; this is work,” Rei answered in a matter-of-fact tone. “I’ll get that for you.”

Nagisa hummed while Rei made the drink, watching Gou and Rin playfully elbow each other while they cleaned in the kitchen through the open door. He grinned, glad that they had made up. Gou looked up from the soapy water and noticed him, so he waved. She stuck out her tongue and wiggled her fingers back, a bright smile on her face. Even Rin looked over his shoulder and smiled at the blond.

_ Damn, I guess everyone just woke up on the right side of the bed today! I hope that the CCG workers are in good moods too. _

“Here. Anything else?” Rei said, prompting the rose eyed boy to look up. He blinked and then a mischievous thought crossed his mind.

“Yeah, can I get a side of Y-O-U with that? To go, of course.”

For a second, the barista blinked at him, almost like he hadn’t understood the joke. Then brilliant red bloomed across his face, and he shoved his glasses up compulsively.

“We don’t have that item! It’s unavailable!” Rei stammered. In an incredibly uncharacteristic fashion, he bolted into the kitchen, leaving a laughing Nagisa collapsed against the counter.

A few minutes passed. Then Rin walked towards him with a bemused expression, throwing mildly worried glances over his shoulder every couple of seconds. 

“What exactly did you do?” He asked. “He’s just staring at the oven periodically muttering ‘what the fuck,’ even though he doesn’t swear that often. I think you broke him.”

“I flirted.” Nagisa replied easily, lifting his chin in a proud manner.

Rin shooed him out of the shop, bursting into wild cackles the second he was out the door. From the kitchen, a quiet, drawn out whine issued.

 

-

 

Although he was still in absurdly high spirits, Nagisa felt his anxiety building the closer he got to CCG headquarters. He’d been there already for paperwork submissions and a nerve wracking interview, but now that he was going to actually take a tour and learn shit, properly, he found himself freaking out.

_ No, we’re fine. This is fine. It can’t be that hard, can it? Not on the first day… _

The blond entered through the huge set of doors and awkwardly walked toward the receptionist. She looked at him with poorly hidden disdain.

“If you’re lost, I suggest going to the police, not the CCG,” she sniffed, turning the page of a fashion magazine underneath the desk. Nagisa bristled; he knew he was short and had chubby cheeks, but he wasn’t a child!

“No, I’m here for an internship! The quinque making one! Where am I supposed to go for that?”

The woman stared at him, clearly not believing his statement, but she flippantly gestured toward the RC scanner. “Go through that door, enter the elevator, and go to the conference room on this floor…” She flipped through a planner and gave him the number, returning to her magazine almost immediately after.

Nagisa rolled his eyes the second his back was to her. How annoying. Well, at least he knew what he was doing now. He quickly slipped through the RC scanner and ran to the closest elevator just before it closed.

He was surrounded by a crowd of utterly silent people, quite a few around his age, who he assumed were going to the same meeting he was. The blond sneaked a quick glance at the number pad and noticed that almost everyone in the elevator was indeed headed to the 12th floor, proving him right. With a raised eyebrow, Nagisa scanned his… classmates? Coworkers? He wasn’t really sure what the term was, but he could study them all the same.

There was a girl with steely blue eyes and jet black hair, absentmindedly scratching a beauty mark near her mouth, a boy who looked incredibly bored (half asleep, really), another, taller boy with teal eyes and a mess of bandages visible underneath his clothes, a woman with short blond hair and a frigid gaze, a person (were they a boy? A girl? Neither? Both? Their appearance was rather androgynous) with… stitches near their eyes and mouth… overall, it was an incredibly interesting crowd.

Both the boy with the teal eyes and the blond woman stepped out at the 10th floor, leaving Nagisa with the people around his age. They all watched the doors open slowly as the elevator reached its destination. The girl nudged the dozing boy, and together, the pair walked out of the elevator. Nagisa followed warily, startling when the person with stitches popped up beside him.

“I saw you watching everyone,” they chirped, pinning Nagisa with an unnervingly red gaze. Their bangs fell into their eyes, and they irritably forced them back before continuing. “Do you make a habit of studying people?”

“Um, sometimes?” Nagisa replied. He wasn’t quite sure what the person wanted. Thankfully, they simply nodded and bounded into the room a few doors down without any other comment. Nagisa trailed after them, hoping it was the conference room he had to be in.

To his relief, the door had Quinque Internship Conference written on a sign, although the paper was starting to fall off. The rose eyed boy entered and immediately slumped into the first open seat he saw. The people from the elevator were indeed there, and a few others had joined them. At the head of the room as a woman with short waves of brown hair and citrine eyes. She nervously shuffled through a stack of papers, and as she did, the person from before sidled up to her with a giant scythe in their hands, looking for all the world like a childish grim reaper.

Nagisa’s eyes brightened. A Quinque! A real fucking Quinque, close enough to touch. That person was an Inspector- they had to be, with how much each and grace they wielded the giant weapon with. Noticing his gaze, the person twirled the scythe in their stitched up hands.

“Suzuya-san, please, you’ll cleave the table in half,” the woman squeaked nervously. Suzuya shrugged.

“Sometimes things look better in pieces. Besides, you were the one who told me to bring my Jason!”

“What am I going to do with you?” She sighed. Turning to the assembled group, she took a deep breath and began to speak more confidently. “Anyway, it looks like I have everything in order! So, hello, new recruits! Welcome to the CCG! My name is Amakata Miho; my partner Sasabe and I are the heads of quinque creation and experimentation here. All of you are interested in making quinques and have passed screening in order to achieve that goal. This is a brief introductory meeting, which will be followed by a tour. Any questions before we begin?”

The drowsing boy raised an eyebrow and pointed at the scythe wielder. “Who is that, and why does he have a scythe twice his size?”

“Oh, this is Associate Special Class Suzuya Juuzou!” Amakata said cheerily. “I asked him to come since he was off duty.”

“Why?” 

“Well, I realized many people have never actually seen a quinque before, and he could show you his,” she answered, starting to look flustered. Suzuya very helpfully thrust his quinque at the bored boy, whose eyes snapped fully open for the first time. Nagisa had to hold back a snort. 

“This is my Jason,” the red eyed boy intoned. His voice seemed to suggest this information was of utmost importance. “He came from a very bad ghoul.”

“Hm,” the girl with the beauty mark murmured. She gently pushed the gleaming purple blade out of her companion’s face. “Perhaps don’t point such a sharp blade at Kunimi-kun?”

Suzuya withdrew the blade, frowning, but before he could say anything else, someone else entered the room.

“Amakata-san, I brought the other files you wanted- eep, that’s a very. Big. Weapon. I think I’m just going to leave…”

Nagisa whirled around, recognizing the voice and scaredy cat manner immediately. “Mako-chan? What the hell are you doing here?”

Makoto blinked down at him like he’d never seen Nagisa before. “Um, hi, Nagisa-kun, I work here… I thought Haru would have told you? He found out recently; he wasn’t exactly pleased.”

“He didn’t tell me shit! I’m going to smack him! And you too! Why didn’t you tell me?” Nagisa screeched. Everyone else in the room looked from Nagisa to Makoto as if they were watching a particularly entertaining tennis match.

“I didn’t think it was important,” he replied weakly. “Nagisa, I have to go meet someone, I’m sorry, I’ll talk to you later.” 

Makoto practically fled the room, leaving Nagisa significantly more irritated than he’d been at the beginning of the day. So much for waking up on the right side of the bed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shoutout to Reigisa for being Reigisa~
> 
> Thanks for reading, lmao. Tell me what you thought??
> 
> Oh, and I realize the part with Juuzou and gender might not be written quite well, but I was trying to convey the same problems with appearance and being called a girl he has in the manga... I'm sorry if it's offensive- I know gender isn't determined by appearance.


	19. Tentative

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the alternate title to this chapter is "several hundred words of a volleyball player being a dick, and also some gay"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *drags myself in sleepily* hello, frens... I am dead.
> 
> Anyway. This is for those who have been asking for SouMako. Here you go! Apparently, Rin needs to step his damn game up to catch up with Sou, here, but he will next chapter.
> 
> The plot finally fucking moves somewhere in this chapter too, although it's not exactly noticeable. I'll outright say how- the movement from the Torso to the Nutcracker investigation is very important for future events >:) Those of you who haven't read TG, this won't make sense to you, but I think my TG fans are gonna have an idea where this is going.
> 
> Thank you for almost 350 kudos!! I'm glad you like my directionless garbage dump. I will work harder this year.

Sousuke watched the crowd of inspectors with a nervous disposition. This was  _ literally  _ above his pay grade; he was damn well not supposed to be at a meeting of squad leaders. But fucking Seijurou was on “sick leave,” nursing a broken heart, so Sousuke was stuck in a cramped meeting full of vicious CCG officers who looked at him as if he were a bug. The only nice person there was Sasaki Haise. The white haired man had offered the teal eyed boy a small smile when he walked in, perhaps trying to comfort him. Unfortunately, he’d been herded close to Arima, and Sousuke was next to some Washuu, far away from a kindly soul.

Arima shuffled papers impetuously, eyes flicking around the room. He seemed ready to begin when another person barged into the room.

“Ya-hoo~ sorry I’m late! But now that my greatness is here, you may begin~” The man cheered. He loped in and snagged the chair on Sousuke’s other side, smirking prettily. Sousuke fought the urge to gag. A stuffy Washuu on one side, and stuck up, pain in the ass Oikawa Tooru on the other. Amazing.

The other squad leaders all shot Oikawa unimpressed looks. With superhuman grace and kindness, Sasaki managed another smile in the annoyance’s direction. The brown haired man just winked and crossed his legs. 

“Well? I said you could begin~”

“Oikawa, please,” Mado snapped, pinching the bridge of her nose. “The world doesn’t revolve around you.” The poor woman looked in desperate need of a drink, though the boy was well aware her alcohol tolerance was terrible. Word of her drunken antics had once been the main topic of gossip in the office.

“We really should start this meeting, though…” Sousuke muttered. He shook his head to clear it of irrelevant thoughts and tried to adopt a business mindset. Oikawa seemed to have heard and nodded as if the lower ranked investigator had been agreeing with him.

What followed was a long spiel of intelligence briefing. The young investigator found himself practically nodding off as those around him traded information and discussed ongoing investigations. Most of this had no relevance to him at all. Sousuke gritted his teeth; damn Seijurou, leaving him to this bullshit. He was almost asleep when someone spoke very loudly.  


“Sasaki-san,” someone the black haired boy couldn’t see called. “We’re pulling the Quinx off the Torso investigation. You and Suzuya will be taking on the Nutcracker. Someone else will look into Torso, clean up any loose ends.”

Sasaki nodded, pursing his lips. “Speaking of the Suzuya squad… where is Juuzou-san?”

“He’s with Amakata at the quinque internship meeting. Apparently, he said he ‘had nothing to do,’ as if being here wasn’t important. Idle fool.” A woman scoffed derisively. Sousuke noticed Sasaki’s eyes narrow at the slight to Suzuya, but the ghoul wisely said nothing.

Another man mused, “Mikoshiba… hm. Mikoshiba isn’t here. Who here is from that squad?” 

The young investigator stiffened, unused to being suddenly addressed. He stood in order to be seen and said, “Uh, I am, sir. Mikoshiba is on a sick leave.”

The superior speaking to him- damn, Sousuke really needed to learn who the higher ups here were- raised an eyebrow. “Well. You’re the one who was recently hospitalized, yes? How is the investigation into the Animals coming?”

Sousuke winced, feeling his bruises and contusions ache in reminder. “Yes, I am. I’m sorry to report it isn’t coming well, sir. We’ve gathered some cursory data from an informant, but there are no concrete leads or even good files to go off of.”

“What do you mean ‘no good files?’” The elder man pressed dangerously.

“I mean the files we were given when we were assigned to the ghouls weren’t thorough,” Sousuke stammered. “There were barely any details on there. All we really have are loose physical descriptions and estimated class rankings.”

“Damned Nagachika,” a waif-like person scowled. “Up and fucking off after the Anteiku raid. The files have been shit ever since he left.”

“Left? He probably died,” Oikawa chirped. He twirled a pencil between his fingers, looking too cheery for such a grim statement. “And besides, the files aren’t supposed to be created by paper boys like him. Someone else was slacking.”

“Yes, yes. Take it up with the desk jockeys later. Yamazaki, correct? Your squad will be given some assistance with the Animals. Conveniently enough, Kuroo from the 3rd Ward stumbled across some leads on your investigation by accident. We will call his team in within the week.”

“Thank you, sir; we’ll continue doing our best.” Sousuke replied gratefully. He sat down and tried to regulate his breathing.  


“Ah, Tetsu-chan… he’s hot; you’re lucky to work with him,” the brown haired man next to him whispered conspiratorially. Sousuke cringed and shot Oikawa an odd look. He responded with a pointed stare, hazel eyes unwavering.

“Hm, we seemed to have wrapped up most orders of business… Oikawa, how are your trainees?”

“Useless!” He announced grandly. The sudden change to a more professional demeanor gave many in the room whiplash, but Oikawa didn’t pause. “The only one with any promise is Tobio-chan, as much as it pains me to say it. Yachi is much better suited to Research and Development- I have to talk her into going there. Hinata is notoriously inconsistent, Yamaguchi is a born coward, and Tsukishima is so unmotivated, I don’t know why he’s here! Following in the steps of his washout brother, I see~”

“Isn’t that a little cruel, Oikawa-san…?” Sasaki hedged. Sousuke glanced at him, noticing his worried expression. “Trainees don’t have to be perfect, just malleable enough to work with. They can learn.”

“I’d rather not train garbage, Sasaki-kun,” came the acidic response. “Iwa-chan and I don’t have time to fix a bunch of upstart rookies from Miyagi, nor are we likely to mother them like you do with your brats. If I were you,” this was directed at the crowd of officials. “I would take Kageyama and throw the rest out.”

Silence followed his statement. Oikawa clicked his tongue, his expression twisted into a scowl. It was clear he had no intention of taking back his words or elaborating further, and as the seconds dragged by, the members began to realize it. Slowly, conversation began again.

The injured boy rubbed at his arm, praying for the meeting to end.

 

* * *

Makoto loitered outside a conference room on the 10th floor, nervously biting his nails. Sousuke had told him to come meet him after he’d dropped off his gathered intel, but now he was stuck in a meeting, and it had gone on for an hour. The green eyed boy leaned against the wall and closed his eyes.

The long wait was partially his fault. After accidentally seeing Nagisa, Makoto hadn’t felt like running around the building for deliveries any longer, and had instead looked for Sousuke. The investigator wasn’t at all to blame for the boredom, nor could he be held accountable for Makoto’s mounting anxiety. (Just now, he’d heard someone venomously snap something at the crowd, and there was a following period of silence. It put the cowardly boy on edge.) Now, he just needed Sousuke to hurry up and say his piece, so Makoto could leave.

His wish was granted. Five minutes after the thought crossed his mind, the door swung open, and people flooded out. Sousuke was among the last to exit, and Makoto snagged his sleeve. He tugged the taller boy back, mindful of his injuries, and blinked up at him expectantly.

“Oh, Makoto. Have you been waiting long?” Sousuke asked, recognizing him after his surprise had passed. “Sorry, those meetings take forever. I’m going to chew Seijurou out for abandoning me to that hell tonight, in fact.”

“I’ve been here a while, yes. You said you had something to talk about? Was there a problem with my observations?” Makoto asked. The pair began to walk to the elevator, slowly trailing after the throngs of investigators.

“No, no, they were fairly good. It’s just that I might need more physical descriptions of the workers. See, the files on the Animals HQ provided for us were… shitty. There’s not much on there except appearance and a class designation.”

“So I didn’t do my job, huh…” Makoto laughed nervously, trailing off. Of course he was bad at field work; there was a reason he hadn’t applied to the academy for training.

Sousuke frowned. “Hey, it’s not your fault. I wasn’t specific in my instructions, honestly. Besides, your notes on mannerisms and the general clientele were pretty helpful.”

“Okay,” the green eyed boy responded. The broadsword wielder’s reassurance eased his worry slightly. “Do you want me to repeat the rounds now?”

“I’ll contact you to tell you when- Kuroo-san from the 3rd Ward and his team are coming in to help with the investigation, and they have some information already. Mikoshiba and I have to figure out what it is before I send you on a pointless journey.”

“Sounds, um. Good?” Makoto tried. They stepped into an elevator, which was blissfully empty, and he studied his reflection in the shiny metal surface. God, he even looked like an unsure wreck. Why was talking to Sousuke in this setting so much harder than seeing him outside of work?

“How are your injuries?” He eventually ended up asking.

“Painful, but healing. I hope you don’t have any?” The other replied, a hint of teasing in his tone. Makoto reddened.

“You say that like you expect me to fall down the stairs. I don’t do dangerous stuff like you, Sousuke!”

The teal eyed man chuckled a bit at that, pulling absentmindedly at a bandage. Without thinking. Makoto grabbed his wrist and dragged it away. “Don’t do that,” he scolded. “It’ll be removed when you heal, not beforehand.”

Sousuke blinked at him, looking from Makoto’s pale hand to his face in surprise. The errand boy retracted his fingers like he’d been burned. “Um, sorry… my little sister always picked at her bandages when she got hurt; it was reflex.”

“I don’t mind. You’re probably right, after all,” the investigator said. “Anyway, as payback for making you run around to all the coffee shops, not once, but twice, how about we go to dinner sometime?”

“Are you asking me out on a date?” Makoto squeaked. That had come out of absolutely nowhere! “And, uh, I thought we agreed this was payment for you saving my life! So… so it wasn’t trouble anyway!”

Sousuke looked at Makoto then, really looked at him, and gave him a slow blink. There was a faint dusting of red high on his cheekbones. “That wasn’t my intention. Do- do you want it to be a date?”

Makoto paused, his teeth apprehensively digging into his lip. He wasn’t too familiar with Sousuke; he could count what he did know about the teal eyed boy on one hand. But on the other hand… he seemed nice. He was attractive.

And Makoto hadn’t been with anyone in a long time.

“I don’t think I would mind too much.”

The doors opened with a sigh.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel bad that there's so much Oikawa in this chapter... like... this was not meant to be a HQ!! crossover, but it ended up that way because Free! simply does not have enough named characters with distinct personalities to work as minor characters. (Before anyone says anything about High Speed, those boys do have a future role, so I can't use them either.)
> 
> I also feel bad because I'm 90% sure that Oikawa is characterized better than Sousuke. Kill me now.
> 
> My child Coffee World is also in this a lot... I miss that Kaneki, tbh.
> 
> Oh, well. Tell me what you thought, I guess.
> 
> PS: I have no fucking clue how meetings in the CCG are set up, because I haven't read TG in approximately 13 years. I bullshitted that whole thing, as I do. I also have no idea if the Washuus and Arima even go to assignment meetings like the one described. Yikes.


	20. accelerate, part 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *dumps this radioactive garbage on the ground* Here you go! Some fresh trash from me!
> 
> Ahem.
> 
> This chapter was originally meant to be longer, but then I realized fitting in so many narratives got cluttered as hell. That's why it's a two part; the other part will be a _very_ direct continuation of this chapter. There's also quite a bit of plot in this mess, surprisingly. 
> 
> Thank you for 359 kudos! That's... so many... I'm honored and also really shocked. I hope the next chapter- which is one of the many moments you've been waiting for- will be well received.

Haru was on the verge of dozing off in class when his phone emitted a quiet  _ ding!  _ and vibrated. Slightly annoyed, he fished the device out of his pocket and read the text he had received.

**Nagisa: i’m holding a movie night at my place i haven’t seen you in like 12 years (๑◕︵◕๑) (●ﾟ´Д｀ﾟ●)ﾉﾟ don’t back out!! i’ll be super mad**

**Haru: who else is coming?**

**Nagisa: um just mako?? like who else do we know**

**Haru: a lot of people.**

**Nagisa: 、ヽ｀(~д~*)、ヽ｀ shut up**

**Haru: you’re lucky i’m off from work tonight.**

**Makoto: Ooh, that sounds fun! What do you want us to bring?**

**Nagisa: STRAWBERRY MOCHI I RAN OUT also vintage horror movies, if you have any bring that shit**

**Makoto: ...do we have to watch horror? Really?**

**Nagisa: it’s part of the fun mako-chan!**

Haru rolled his eyes and muted the phone, deciding to go back to sleep. He made a mental note to swing by the store before heading to Nagisa’s for the night.

 

-

 

Night arrived quietly, accompanied by a rush of cold. Haru shivered as he made the trip to Nagisa’s house. He probably should’ve called a cab, but he would rather not spend extra money on a ride if he had the ability to walk.

It was a rather bad decision, if the artist gave it a little more thought.

Haru sighed and accepted his mistake, making his way through scattered groups of people. They all seemed just as frozen as him, all huddled together for a measure of warmth, all wrinkled their reddened noses as another frigid gale swept past. The blue eyed boy hurried on alone, and to his relief, spotted a store’s lights shining ahead.

The convenience store he slipped into was quiet and warm. Haru almost didn’t want to leave; he would rather sit behind the counter and bask in the heating like the sleepy cashier was currently doing. Unfortunately, that would end with Nagisa spamming his phone again, so he set out to find the snack his friend had asked for. He found the mochi after a moment of browsing, and reluctantly paid before ghosting out into the cold again. Thankfully, Nagisa’s apartment was only a few blocks away.

He stepped up to the worn front door and rang the doorbell. It didn’t take a minute before Nagisa answered and dragged him in.

“Haru-chan! You took forever- Mako-chan’s been here for ages,” the blond chattered, taking the bag of mochi to the kitchen. “He brought Godzilla instead of a real horror movie, so we’ll start out watching that. Do you want buttered popcorn?”

Haru found himself smiling slightly, just as caught up in enthusiasm as his friend. “That sounds okay.”

Since he wasn’t about to stick around watching Nagisa dump an excess of butter and salt over his popcorn, the blue eyed boy drifted over to the living room. Makoto was lazily flicking through TV channels, not paying attention to anything in particular, but he whipped around when Haru snuck up on him. 

“Oh! Uh, hi, Haru,” he exclaimed nervously. Haru blinked, wondering why he sounded so… affected. After a minute of pondering, he realized this was the first time he’d seen Makoto since his childhood friend had confessed he worked for the CCG.

“You don’t have to sound so anxious,” the artist muttered. He settled on the couch beside Makoto, quirking an eyebrow at the green eyed boy’s surprised expression. “I’m not mad at you, I’m really not.”

Makoto let out a huge sigh of relief. “Thank god. Nagisa lectured me for twenty minutes when I stepped inside; he accidentally saw me at the office before I could tell him, and he was not pleased.”

Haru snorted. “Sounds like classic Nagisa. You wanna start the movie? I think he’s almost done.”

The movie night went exceedingly well, and for all his irritation in getting there, Haru ended up enjoying himself. The trio ignored their impending classes and jobs to watch movies until the early hours of the morning. At some point, a bottle of sake found its way onto the table, and the friends idly conversed over drinks.

“I have an idea,” Nagisa announced around 2:00 AM. Hatu looked up from a doodle, indulging him, as did Makoto.

“What is it?” the brown haired boy asked. His words slurred, making him frown. Haru snickered inwardly; Makoto never could hold his alcohol. However, his good mood withered when Nagisa finished his sentence.

“Let’s play truth or dare!” 

“No.” Haru replied flatly. He hunched back over his drawing, wishing he had some paint or colored pencils. The scribbled sketch had turned out much better than he’d expected, and now he wanted to focus on it fully, not play a stupid game.

“Please?” Nagisa wheedled. “Only one round!”

“I think it’s okay,” Makoto said. Haru shot him a glare. “It could be fun!”

“Two against one, Haru-chan; now we have to! Mako-chan, truth or dare?”

“Er, I don’t want to do anything crazy. Truth?” His voice lilted upward the edge, almost as if his answer was a question.

The rose eyed boy tapped his chin thoughtfully. “Hm. Who’s the person you were texting earlier? You know, the one you apparently have a date with?”

Makoto yelped in surprise. His face slowly turned crimson, but he had it in him to defensively blurt, “How did you even know I was texting him?”

“Because you’re too trusting with your phone and don’t have a passcode, and I’m nosy,” came the honest reply. “Who was it?”

“Yamazaki Sousuke,”  he relented. “From the CCG. Um, I actually mistook something he said for a confession, almost, even though he was just trying to repay a favor with dinner... but we’re going to try a few outings to see how it goes.”

“That’s cute, Mako-chan!” Nagisa cooed. Haru managed a small smile. He was glad Makoto was finally dating again; after his last girlfriend had broken his heart, he hadn’t wanted to speak to anyone for days, and refused to meet with anyone else following his recovery.

“Haru-chan, truth or dare?”

For a moment, he pretended to not have heard. Eventually, though, Haru tossed his pen aside, huffing. He hated this game, but under the earnest gazes of his childhood friends and the effect of a few too many glasses of sake, he relented. “Truth.”

“Do you like Rin-chan?”

“What?” 

Nagisa grinned. “You heard me. Do you like Rin-chan?”

Haru felt his mouth pinch into a pout. “No…”

“You hesitated~”

“Shut up. Can I be done now?” He was already searching for his pen, heat spreading through his face. Now he remembered why this game was garbage. Next to the pocky game, it was the most invasive and embarrassing experience to have with friends. 

Just as Haru picked up the pen, Makoto asked, “Do you really?” His question seemed much less intrusive; rather, it was a genuine inquiry.  “It would be nice if you could go out with him- I think your personalities suit each other.”

The artist fiddled with the black rollerball. “What if I did? It’s not like anything would come out of it: he’s my boss. Can we even be called friends?”

“I think,” the blond said impetuously. “That you never know if you try. And of course you’re friends! I’m sure Rin-chan likes you, and besides, I can get him to confess.”

“Why do you assume I like him? Didn’t I say no?” Haru protested weakly.

But there was no use denying it.

On the scrap of paper the artist had been drawing on was a bust of Rin, his mouth curved in an adoring smile and a crown of flowers in his hair.

 

* * *

Haise awoke from his uneasy slumber upon faintly hearing the buzz of the TV from the floor below. With a frown, he slipped out of bed and trekked down the stairs, wondering which one of his “kids” had left it on.

Not surprisingly, the one asleep on the couch, remote about to tumble from her slack grip, was Saiko. His problem child. Sighing, the white haired ghoul scooped her into his arms. It took slightly more effort than he’d anticipated; Haise was starting to see why Shirazu was becoming increasingly annoyed hauling her around on investigations.

Before he could cart the blue haired girl to her room, the late night news report playing on the TV caught his attention.

“...the newest murders are presumed to be the work of the ghoul called ‘Nutcracker.’ One can only wonder when the Commission of Counter Ghoul will ‘crack’ the case of this dangerous creature and make our streets safe once again.”

Haise winced. He and Juuzou had quite a bit of work to do.

In an auction hall hidden from prying eyes, a woman with long black hair stepped out onto a stage. Her mouth curved into a terrifying grin, showing pitch black teeth. She gestured grandly to a frightened young girl beside her.

Roars of a crowd and frantic muttering filled her ears.

“Let the bidding for my newest item begin! The starting price is ¥70, 000, 000!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again, thank you so much! Please provide feedback as you see fit.
> 
> Haru is so gay... Drawing your crush, like, what kind of queer shit (says me, a gay artist).
> 
> Also, the Saiko mentioned in this chapter is one of Haise's subordinates from TG:RE. She was previously referred to as "Yonebayashi" in this story, as that is her last name. She's my favorite Quinx, so I kinda had to give her a cameo (especially because the Quinx's role gets fucked over by me later in the fic).


	21. accelerate, part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Look at all these RELATIONSHIPS!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Damn, Blizzard! BACK AT IT AGAIN WITH THE GAY UPDATES!
> 
> Anyway, this is like, all about relationship development, and it's one of the moments you've been waiting for. For reference, Gou's section takes place around the same time as Nagisa's little party. That's the whole "direct" thing I was talking about in the last chapter.
> 
> Sorry this was late. For those who didn't hear, my old laptop got fried. :/ I just started properly using my new one. I'm very grateful for your patience, and especially for those of you who left kind comments on my notice.
> 
> In other news, I believe this is the longest chapter I've written for this fic, at slightly over 2700 words. Yay for that~ And yay for 367 kudos- thank you guys!

For the second time in her life, Gou stood in front of Seijuro’s apartment door, twisting her hands in her skirt. Her reason this time was completely different than before, but familiar anxiety bubbled within her stomach.

_ All I have to do is apologize. I need to explain that I didn’t mean to hurt him. That’s all, right? _

Before Gou could psych herself out, she raised a hand and knocked on the door. Immediately afterward, she yanked her hand back as if burned. Her ears picked up shuffling and light footsteps within the apartment, and she swallowed fearfully.

“Who is it?” Seijuro asked, opening the door before she could even answer. Gou took in his face, the slightly confused furrow of his brows. He really was handsome, she thought.

Too bad his open expression twisted the moment he realized it was her.

Sensing that he was about to slam the door shut, Gou hurried forward and placed her hand against it, shoving it back into the apartment. The motion crowded the boy into his entryway, and he blinked owlishly in response.

“Please, before you throw me out, listen to me,” Gou pleaded. “I came here to apologize.”

The other redhead frowned. “Apologize? Now? It’s been a long time since we…”

“Since we slept together, and I left,” the ghoul finished brazenly. “And it’s taken me way too long to say it, but I know you deserve better than what I gave you. Will you let me in?”

Seijuro relented, turning away and walking into his home. “Okay. Do you want something to drink?” The hospitality felt forced, but Gou brightened anyway. She would take what she could get.

With a sigh of relief, the koukaku entered. She took off her shoes and pushed the door shut with her foot, pausing to adjust the rumpled pleats on her skirt. “I’ll just take black coffee, if you have any.”

If he did, it would be the awful instant kind, but she could forgive him for that.

The girl settled on the couch as Seijuro awkwardly clattered about in the kitchen. His conflicted feelings were palpable from where she was sitting, but she chose to ignore them. Instead, Gou stared at her hands. They were soft and dainty, with slim, pale fingers that had often delicately curled around mugs.

Those same fingers had broken bones and gouged out organs, and here she was, pretending to be an innocent human girl again. Gou narrowed her eyes. Maybe she shouldn’t have come...

Her darkening thoughts were interrupted by the thunk of a mug hitting the coffee table. She blinked at the cup- oh, it looked like it was filled with sludge. Gou had been right; Seijuro only owned instant coffee.

The redhead himself gingerly took a seat, as far away from her as the couch would allow. Gou winced; she got that sign loud and clear. He’d even placed his tea far away from her drink.

For a moment, the pair let the tension hover between them. The ghoul traced the rim of the mug with the tip of her finger, gathering her courage to speak. 

Seijuro beat her to it.

“What is it you had to say? I mean, Gou-san, I thought I heard you loud and clear when I woke up alone…”

She flinched. “Let me explain, please. When I came here that day, I wasn’t planning on moving that fast. I just wanted to tell you that I felt the same about you, that I loved when you came to Samezuka during my shifts and talked to me. I planned to say that I liked your smile, and I wanted to be with you. But then things got out of control… it scared me What if you didn’t like me afterward? What would my brother do if he found out?”

“How could I ever not like you?” The boy interrupted. His orange eyes burned, but Gou was more focused on his shaking hands. “I was so happy, I could die. You’re beautiful, and you finally noticed me,” Seijuro huffed a little at the end. “And between you and me, I think I could take Rin-san.”

_ Could you really, _ Gou thought dryly.  _ He could kill you with both arms tied behind his back. It’s part of the ghoulish charm.  _ Of course, she couldn’t voice this. What came out of her mouth instead was, “I wasn’t thinking properly. I never meant to hurt you, Sei, I promise. I’m so sorry. Please forgive me.”

She stood and then gracelessly knelt on the floor, dipping into a bow.

Seijuro said nothing for a moment, sending Gou into a minor panic. She nervously lifted her head, trying to peer at his face, and what she found was surprising.

He looked like he was trying not to cry.

“Come here,” he said. He held out his arms invitingly, prompting Gou to scramble off the floor and leap into his embrace. “I forgive you. I’m sorry about acting rude, too.”

“I think we both need to communicate better,” the redhead mumbled. It came out as a garbled murmur against his neck, but hopefully, he’d gotten the point.

She could hear the blood rushing underneath his skin, felt the heart pulsing steadily in his chest, but there was no impulse to kill. Instead, all Gou felt was peace.

Gou didn’t know how long they stayed like that, curled up on the couch. It was enough time for their drinks to get cold and her arms to fall asleep where they were looped around his neck. Neither of them moved, though, content to finally cuddle as they should have been doing before.

“You know, I was so upset earlier, I took a sick leave from the CCG,” Seijuro suddenly admitted. Gou peered down at him incredulously.

“Because you were sad that I left? Oh my god, I’m dating a drama queen,” she cackled. He pouted, swatting at her arm.

“Don’t laugh at me! I was heartbroken!”

She grinned at him affectionately. “Sorry~”

“No, you’re not. Mocking my pain like that, sheesh,” the investigator grumbled. “Sousuke was so mad at me. Apparently, he ended up stuck in a meeting with the other squad leaders in my place. He did score a date, though- he can’t stay pissed.”

“A date? With who, a Washuu?” Gou rolled her eyes. She couldn’t imagine many other people at the Counter Ghoul office being attractive, especially not some stuffy superiors.

“No, some kid called Makoto. I think he’s one of the delivery boys?”

Gou sat up in surprise. “Tachibana? Green eyes, brown hair, looks like he could bench press more than you, but is actually afraid of his own shadow?”

“Yeah, that one!” He exclaimed. “You know him?”

“He comes to the shop sometimes. He’s friends with one of our new workers,” she said. That  served as an unfriendly reminder of how precarious of a position she and her fellow Samezuka workers were in. It looked like every human they came into contact with was somehow affiliated with the devils themselves.

_ The next thing I’ll hear is that Haru was CCG all along. _

“Hm. I guess if Gou-kun knows him, then he’s a good person.”

“Yeah, he’s nice-” Gou began, but his words gave her pause. “Wait, what did you just call me?”

Seijuro tilted his head innocently. [“Gou-kun?” ](http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Gokun)  


“Don’t use -kun with my name!” she cried. “I’ve dealt with enough jokes…”

Seijuro blinked at her, like he didn’t quite understand what her problem was. Then the realization dawned on him, and his eyes went round with horror.

“Oh, no, I wasn’t thinking about- I really didn’t mean that!”

The pair took a minute to cringe before dissolving into laughter. Gou smiled and tangled her fingers with his, wanting to hold on this light, happy atmosphere forever.

They would be alright.

 

* * *

The next day observed a quiet afternoon. Rin and Haru were alone on the 3-6 shift, and there were only two patrons in the shop. One was a half asleep high school girl, who was starting to drool over her notebook, and the other was a middle aged man scrolling through something on his phone.

In other words, it was boring as hell.

Rin slumped against the counter, sighing. Theoretically, he could be doing homework, or trying out new concoctions, but he chose to pretend those options weren’t there. The decision left him with an echo of the same boredom that had plagued him before he met Haru. What was there to do?

_ I mean, you could talk to him. _ A little voice in his head said snidely. Rin snuck a glance at Haru. It seemed the other boy was just as bored as him, although he was sitting somewhat attentively at a table near the entrance.

_ But I don’t have anything to say… what’s a good ice breaker? ‘Hey, did you see that [American girl who won the 800 in the Olympics? You know, the one that was 11 seconds ahead of everyone else and broke a world record?](http://www.nbcolympics.com/video/katie-ledecky-shatters-800m-free-world-record-4th-gold) Wasn’t that cool?’ _

Rin’s internal monologue was disrupted by the vibration of his phone. He pulled it out of his pocket, grateful for the distraction, only to see a number he didn’t know had texted him.

**Unknown: hi rin-chan! It’s nagisa, gou gave me your number~~ i have to talk to you about something ヽ(・∀・)ﾉ**

**Rin: Um, okay, sure. What is it?**

The next message made him drop his phone. It hit the floor with a loud crack, noisy enough to startle the dozing girl awake. Haru and the older man gave him matching unimpressed looks. Hurriedly mouthing an apology, he ducked under the counter to pick it up. 

The message that had startled him read,

**Unknown: you should ask haru out! (≧◡≦)**

Rin remained on the floor in a crouch, his face slowly reddening the more he stared at the message. Flustered, he responded,

**Rin: what the fuck**

**Rin: Where did that come from?!**

**Unknown: i have eyes and i can see the way you look at each other? also we had a little party and he admitted he liked you during truth or dare**

**Unknown: but i know he’s too tsundere to actually ask you out, so i decided i might as well make you do it**

The ghoul frowned. That sounded too good to be true. Someone he was starting to feel for, someone very attractive, liked him back? No, it couldn’t be.

**Rin: How am I supposed to believe you?**

**Unknown: [image attached]**

The rinkaku stared at the photo. It was slightly blurry, but it was clearly a drawing. A drawing of him, to be precise. Nobody but Haru could've drawn him like that.  


**Unknown: he was doodling that when he got a little tipsy and basically that’s when i knew i needed to get you guys together!! it would be really cute, right?? (〃＾▽＾〃) so just ask him out!**

**Rin: A drawing doesn’t really prove anything. I don’t want to mess up a friendship.**

**Unknown: look rin-chan i’ve literally known haru-chan since elementary school and i know when he’s kinda drunk he’s more honest, okay. and the way he tried to deny his feelings was really obvious**

**Unknown: i want him to be happy and i want you to be happy SO GET TOGETHER AND BE HAPPY PLEASE**

**Rin: I’ll think about it.**

To avoid further pestering from the tiny blond, Rin turned off his phone and shoved it into his pocket. He emerged from under the counter just as Haru was waving the last customer out of the shop.

And now there were two in the cafe.

The ghoul felt his mouth pinch into an anxious line. His heart pounded, whether from nerves or attraction, and his phone practically burned against his thigh. Why did Nagisa have to send that text? Why was he reacting this way?

Why was Haru coming closer- oh, shit.

The black haired boy leaned over the counter, stepped into Rin’s space, and gently pressed the back of his hand against Rin’s forehead. The ghoul froze, eyes flickering over the other’s face. This close, he could see every shade of blue in Haru’s eyes, every tiny imperfection in his skin. It was mesmerizing.

It also wasn’t the worst part. No, that was the scent.

Haru smelled amazing. Under a faint layer of chlorine and what was probably paint, Rin could smell something almost floral. It reminded him of open fields and scores of cherry blossoms. Shocked, the ghoul stumbled backward before he could do something stupid, like bury his face in Haru’s neck.

“What was that for?” Rin stammered, trying and failing to maintain a semblance of dignity. Haru raised an eyebrow.

“...Your face is the approximate color of a fire truck. I was wondering if you were sick,” he said. His face was entirely impassive, as if being so close to Rin was normal. “You were acting weird, too. Why’d you drop your phone and then hide?”

“Because your friend Nagisa is the devil,” Rin retorted. “He sent me this- stupid message, and it startled me, okay?”

“No need to get snappy. I was just worrying about you,” Haru huffed. He turned away and started clearing the dishes away from the tables with a little more force than necessary. Immediately regretful, Rin swept in to help.

They worked to straighten up the shop in awkward silence. Rin worried his lip between his sharp teeth, wondering if he should just tell Haru. He had a lot to lose, but it wasn’t as if he couldn’t avoid the artist afterward. All he had to do was modify the work schedule, and then he could evade the other swimmer for the rest of his life. Period.

_ But I don’t want to do that. I want to see him. I want to know how this will end. _

Another voice spoke in Rin’s head, then, much softer and sweeter than the first.  _ The life of a ghoul is short, love. If you want something, you have to go get it. You never know when it will disappear. _

Rin steeled himself, his hand tightening around the dish towel he was holding.  “Do you want to know what he said?”

Haru glanced at him. “Something idiotic, I assume?”

“He said that you liked me, and that I should ask you out.”

Now it was Haru’s turn to drop something. The spray bottle in his hand fell to the floor, and Rin watched him struggle for words.

“What… why would he say that?”

“Isn’t that something you should ask yourself?” Rin replied, only a hint of teasing in his tone. He waited with bated breath for the human’s response.

Haru’s mouth twisted. “If you’re following logic like that, isn’t there something _you_ should be asking _me_?”

“Fine,” Rin replied. He stepped toward Haru, acting much more confident than he felt, and placed his hands on the table, one on each side of the other boy’s hips. Leaning in just enough to see those blue eyes again, he asked cheekily, “Will you go out with me?”

Haru pushed him off, a blush spreading across his face. “Do me a favor and never do that again.”

“That wasn’t a no,” Rin pointed out, stepping backwards. “Are you gonna answer the question?”

“Fine. Yes, I’ll go out with you. Don’t pick a stupid place for a date.” 

For a second, Rin was sure he’d heard wrong. When the realization finally caught up with him, he grinned brightly. “Aw, you do care! Don’t worry- it’ll be great.”

“Whatever. I’ll hold you to that. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to go,” Haru answered haughtily. He picked up the spray bottle, ducked into the back room to change, and then left the shop. Before he walked away, he waved at Rin through the window, still looking mildly embarrassed.

The ghoul laughed to himself, heart suddenly warm with affection. So Haru could be cute too. How sweet. He’d have to thank Nagisa after all.

The redhead finished a few more errands and then left the shop, locking the door behind him. There would be no more business at Samezuka tonight. Instead, he’d be holed up at home, giggling like a schoolgirl, all because he’d gotten what he’d never thought he’d have.

_ Mom would be proud. _

Rin dropped his gaze to the concrete, suddenly glad that he had always listened to his mother.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Rin and Haru are awkward beans who are gonna awkwardly navigate through an awkward relationship. Gou and Nagisa will laugh at them.
> 
> Things I'm thankful for: ao3 didn't kill my bold formatting when I pasted in this chapter, nor did it murder my kaomojis. God bless.
> 
> Next on this shitshow: Dates, dates, and I kill someone! Catch me outside!
> 
> ...I'm sorry I'm such a fuckign meme.


	22. Interlude- School is Slowly Killing Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Um. Murder.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heyo ;; I know this is short as fuck, but I decided to cut it from the actual chapter because the violence juxtaposed a _bit_ too much with the cutesy RH date. Also, I wanted that to be longer and a lot better than what it would've turned out to be had I shoehorned it all into one day of work, so we end up with. Small murder.
> 
> I apologize for not updating for two weeks, ahh. I've been slammed with homework (hence the punny title), and I also wanted to update IADA, which I hadn't touched in three months.
> 
> Next week, though, you will hopefully get the gay you deserve. It all depends on whether or not my chem prof. stops trying to kill me. _(:D) I am a liar, and I have regrets. 
> 
> But while I'm a useless author, you're the greatest readers! Thank you for 382 kudos!

The investigator sighed, eyes sweeping over the courtyard. Kamii University sure was a nice looking place. Morning light filtered through the red and yellow tree leaves, painting the concrete with dappled light and shadow, and a nippy breeze blew intermittently. Despite the nice atmosphere and weather, everyone milling around looked slightly stressed. It was certainly due to the amount of pressure that haunted them- this university was incredibly rigorous, and its pharmacy department in particular was known to make students break.

She would know. She’d gone to Kamii’s sister school, Rikkyo, before transferring into the CCG’s academy. It had been a… difficult experience.

Oh, well. Now wasn’t the time for self-reflection. She had a job to do and an unsavory student to find.

“Have you located him?” the woman asked lightly. To anyone else, it would’ve appeared she was speaking to thin air. At her question, however, the comm in her ear crackled to life.

“Not yet, squad leader. He might be in the building.”

“Then lure him out. What are you waiting for? You want to destroy this very expensive academy in a fight?”

“N-no, ma'am,” he stammered.

The investigator pressed her lips into a thin line. “I thought not. Get him into the courtyard. We’ll see if he’ll come quietly, or if we’ll have to resort to… strong persuasion.”

“Yes, ma’am!”

The woman sighed, twirling a lock of hair around her finger. She sat on a wooden bench underneath a tree and placed the briefcase she’d been clutching beside her. To distracted onlookers, she probably looked like another student, not a seasoned hunter.

But she was, and she would wait for her prey.

As it turned out, the investigator only sat idle for a few more minutes before a short boy with navy blue hair and reddish eyes tried to slip through the gate. Ah. So her target had snuck out of the building. Too bad there was no getting past her.

She swiftly stepped out in front of him, falsely pleasant smile firmly in place. He halted in fear.

“Kirishima Ikuya, I presume?” the investigator said easily. He balked, frantically looking back and forth for an escape route. Unfortunately for him, there was none. The students were unaware, the other investigators were en route to their position, and she stood firmly between him and the main exit.

“I believe you’re wanted,” the woman continued, calmly lifting her attache.

The student seemed so panicked that he looked human. She could almost feel a twinge of empathy at seeing his expression. As she watched, though, it changed. His face hardened, and suddenly, she was slashed across the chest with a sharp, crystallized kagune.

“Fuck,” she swore, seeing his eyes darken. People began to notice what had happened, and someone screamed. Kirishima’s winged weapon drew back, and he leapt at her. She hurriedly dodged, screaming into her earpiece for back-up. He was more volatile than they had predicted, and she needed someone to cover her before he escaped.

Her briefcase morphed into her Quinque, a large fan made of the same ukaku crystals Kirishima wielded. The ghoul hissed and struck her again, but she blocked the blow, ducking under his kagune. The crystals made a painful screeching sound as they grated against each other, and the ghoul flinched, his enhanced hearing becoming his weakness.

The investigator rapidly struck at his legs, tearing huge gashes into the skin. The boy fell to his knees, but fired a wave of shards of her to keep her away. It was funny, she mused as she skidded back. He’d been meek and frightened, then vicious and furious, and now he looked confused. It seemed like he hadn’t been expecting her to strike him.

“Eye for an eye,” she huffed, indicating her bloody chest. Kirishima’s mouth twisted. He stumbled to his feet and dove at- no, past her, running for the gates. Before he could make it, her backup arrived. Several Q-Bullets drove into his back, sending him sprawling to the ground. The squad leader brandished her Quinque and drove it between his bladed wings.

After that, it was all over rather quickly.

On the grounds of Kamii University, once the school of the feared Eyepatch, a ghoul died. Meanwhile, his brother, who had narrowly escaped the CCG, boarded the Shinkansen.

He never looked back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some clarifications here:
> 
> Kamii University is a fictional university Ishida made for Tokyo Ghoul. The "sister school" I mentioned here, Rikkyo, is actually the place it's based off of, and it's in Ikebukuro.
> 
> The Shinkansen is a network of high speed railway lines connecting Tokyo with other areas of Japan, like Kyoto.
> 
> Again, I'm sorry this is so short. It has a direct impact on the next chapter though, considering this Kirishima is actually a person a certain someone knows~ 
> 
> I swear I'll try harder to like, manage my time next week. :// Thanks for putting up with my shitty meme loving ass for literally over a year.
> 
> Stay tuned for more soft gays!


	23. within this darkness, you shine so brightly

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is so gay. My gay fucking ass is crying.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Notes: Hello, readers, this is more garbage brought to you by Blizzard, who cries every time she tries writing. Here, we finally see the date we’ve been waiting for, which took way too long to get here. I hope y’all like it.
> 
> This chapter was co-written by my lovely best friend, stormygreyskies1934. Please give them a shoutout for helping my sorry ass for five years now! We had a rather memorable time stumbling through this together.
> 
> Chapter title is taken from "Save Me" by BTS. Why? It's fitting. Also, I'm lame.
> 
> Thanks for 387 kudos! I think I’ll cry real tears if it gets to 400 ;; I never thought anyone would like it that much. You guys are the best. ❤︎ ❤︎ ❤︎ ❤︎ ❤︎ ❤︎ 
> 
> Please enjoy!

After a few days of tearing his hair out and wearing a hole into his rug from pacing, Rin finally figured out where to take Haru on their date. He’d wanted it to be be perfect, to make Haru’s cold face heat up. And he thought he had the answer now.

It took an absurd amount of research and a little bit of snooping into those weird water magazines the other boy liked, but the ghoul had found a little seaside town called Hasetsu near Fukuoka. It was apparently renowned for its hot springs, and hell, it was right near Genkainada Sea. What more could someone in love with water want?

There was one problem, though: it took over six hours via train to get there. He could only hope Haru was willing to take that long to arrive at a date’s destination. It’s not like Rin was asking him to fly to Australia, though, and the trip would likely be worth it.

Rin texted Haru that Wednesday. His heart leapt into his throat as he tapped out the letters.

**Rin: Are you free this weekend?**

**Haru: yeah why?**

**Rin: Remember the date we decided on? I figured something out, if you still wanna go. It’ll probably take the whole weekend, though.**

**Haru: okay, that’s fine. it seriously had better not be stupid, i don’t want to regret doing this like i regret everything else in my life.**

**Rin: I’m preeeeetty sure you’ll like this, I promise :)**

**Haru: i’m looking at you suspiciously through the phone, i hope you know that.**

**Rin: Pack stuff for an overnight stay! And bring a swimsuit!**

On Saturday, after haphazardly stuffing things into a duffle bag and sprinting to Haru’s apartment, Rin barged in with two pre-ordered train tickets crumpled in his fist. Haru gave him a supremely unimpressed look from where he was curled up on the couch.

“You look like you ran away from a burning building,” he said bluntly. “I’m not going anywhere, am I?”

“Well, excuse me for wanting to get there at a reasonable time! Our train leaves at 9:00 from freaking Shibuya!” Rin hissed. “This is gonna be a six and a half hour train ride, too!” He paused in his tirade, suddenly realizing he’d been able to enter the house too easily. “...why the hell did you leave your door open- someone could’ve waltzed in and killed you!”

The black haired boy shot him an odd look as he got off the couch. He stopped briefly to grab his bag and breezed out the door, pausing for Rin as an afterthought.

“Nobody but you, Nagisa, and Makoto regularly come here, and Makoto and Nagisa have keys. I’m really not worried about suddenly dying to home invasion,” Haru retorted when Rin exited the home. He locked the door and they made their way out of the apartment complex.

“What about a ghoul?” Rin asked, like he wasn’t one himself. “Activity has been increasing lately. You mentioned the murders yourself, a little while back.”

Haru raised an eyebrow. “Well, they haven’t been in this neighborhood. Besides, we live in Chiyoda, the 1st Ward. Aside from the Animals and a couple of other stragglers, ghoul activity has historically been low due to the presence of CCG. I don’t think I need to be _too_ worried.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Rin grumbled dismissively. “I’d be worried.” _And I have a better chance of fighting than you._

“I can’t believe this is supposed to be a date, and you’re talking about murder. I should leave,” Haru huffed. “Where are we even going?”  
  
“It’s a surprise! But I think it’s something you’ll really like,” the redhead said in a lilting voice. “And there’s always time to talk about safety-”   
  
“Are you Rei,” the artist deadpanned. “I’m sure we won’t die to spontaneous ghoul attacks. Calm down, Rin.”

Rin laughed and gently nudged Haru, who gave him a small smile in response. The pair caught a taxi into Shibuya, the 13th Ward, where they would take a train to Hasetsu. The rest of their trip to the station was spent in amicable silence, and when they finally boarded the train, they engaged in small talk.

Scenery flew by, turned into an incomprehensible blur by the speed of the bullet train. As it passed, he couldn’t help but wonder about the lives of those they were passing. The realization that everyone had their own struggles, triumphs, happiness, sadness, love, pain- it was sudden and shocking. Rin turned away from the window and closed his eyes.

The rinkaku started dozing off about an hour into the ride, so he opted to rest against the side of the train while Haru began to draw. The boy really was cute, Rin mused. He was sitting childishly, curled up on the seat with his sketchbook propped up on his thighs. The artist was even wearing a huge blue hoodie and a little shirt with a milk bottle on it, which was also adorable.

The redhead sighed. Damn, he was gone.

Around 4:00, they pulled into Hasetsu. Rin gently pulled Haru (who had fallen asleep around the fourth hour) off the train and into the station. It was surprisingly more modern than expected for such a tiny town, even having elevated tracks.

The duo descended the stairs, awkwardly following the few people who’d come with them. Rin’s eyes flicked from side to side. From what he observed, the town seemed pretty normal. There definitely weren’t any ghouls around, and the sea breeze sweeping into the station from the open doors was refreshing.

The posters of some ice skater plastered everywhere were a little weird, but hey, Haru was looking around in mild excitement. Rin counted it as a win.

A quick stop for directions led them to a traditional inn, Yu-Topia, the same place Rin had read about. Apparently, it was the only hot spring open in Hasetsu anymore: the rinkaku thanked his lucky stars that it was still around for this. They stepped into the large building, and when he felt the steam filtering into the room, the artist seemed to realize why he’d been dragged here. Haru stood dumbstruck in the entryway as Rin asked for a bedroom, and after stowing away their things, they gratefully entered the shower room.

* * *

"So, basically,” Haru said, mildly teasing, as the two stripped down and turned on a showerhead, “you brought me here to take a bath. I can’t help but question your motives.” He dragged a stool over to share the shower with Rin.

Rin felt himself go red but was relieved to see Haru grinning.

“I’m just kidding,” the black haired boy snickered. “Here, let me wash your hair.” He pushed his stool closer, an enormous blob of shampoo in his hands.

“I don’t quite need that much shampoo,” Rin pointed out, but the caress of Haru’s fingers in his hair was too good to pass up. He let out a sigh of contentment before saying, “So are you going to condition it, too, then?”

“Only if you do me. Er, mine. I meant mine.” He stuttered, hurrying to correct himself.

“I’ll do you _and_ your hair,” Rin said jokingly, wishing he could see Haru’s face. “Not at the same time, though.”

Haru promptly dumped a bucket of water onto Rin’s head. Rin was sure it was meant to both wash out his hair and shut him up, and he spluttered helplessly, keeping his eyes tightly shut to avoid getting shampoo in them.

“Shut it,” Haru said quietly. His hand brushed Rin’s shoulder, leaving the ghoul’s skin feeling oddly tingly. The conditioning process went about the same as the shampooing and filled the room with a crisp apple scent. When that was finished, Rin repeated the process with the artist.

“Ever considered growing out your hair?” He said idly, popping bubbles with his fingers.

Haru shook his head. “I would look disgusting with long hair.”

Rin considered this as he ran his own fingers through Haru’s dark locks. “Maybe if you let the front catch up with the back and then parted it on one side.”

“Trust me, it’s better short. Besides, your hair isn’t that long, but I bet it still ends up looking like a mess in the morning. Me? All I have to do is get up and run a wet comb through it.” Haru leaned back slightly, resting against Rin’s knees. He blinked down at the human and tried desperately not to stare.

“I guess that’s true.” Rin ran the shower head over Haru’s hair, trying his best not to get too much excess water in the other boy’s face. Haru hummed quietly and allowed him to do as he pleased.

The two washed the rest of themselves rather quickly, eager to get into the hot spring. They toweled themselves off and then made their way outside.

“It’s getting cold,” Haru noted. “Hot springs were a good plan..”

“Let’s start with this one.” Rin pointed at the nearest spring. “If we want a hotter one, we can move.”

They slid into the water and sigh in unison, the warmth of it protecting them from the cold air swirling above their heads. Pale orange and pinks streaks from the sunset reflected into the water, and the first glimmer of a star appeared above their heads.

“Well,” Haru inched closer to Rin to rest his head on his shoulder. “There are definitely worse dates you could have picked. Congrats on not dragging me into a stupid one.”

“You had so much faith in me. And what are worse dates?” Rin drawled dryly. His mildly sarcastic comment gave him enough courage to hesitantly wrap an arm around Haru. He felt the other boy press his face into his neck and inhaled sharply, resisting the urge to sink back into the water

“Do you even have to ask that? It would take me decades just to get through them all,” The blue eyed boy mumbled. “ One example, though… Makoto’s ex-girlfriend once took him to a horror movie premier. Three guesses as to who can’t stomach horror.”

“Fuck, alright then, Haru,” The water was filling him with calm, and he let his head fall lightly on top of Haru’s.

“God, you make my name sound so hot.” Haru mumbled into Rin’s shoulder. Rin jumped in surprise, almost choking on air. Haru retreated with a look of amusement.

“Well, you _are_ pretty hot,” Rin replied after he got himself under control, swirling the water around with his other arm and watching the tiny waves bounce off each other.

“That’s true,” Haru agreed blandly. “Since it’s about 30 degrees Celsius in here, I have to assume we’re both pretty hot.”

“We’ll have to be careful,” Rin joked back, grateful for an attempt at normal banter. “If we stay in here too long the water might up and evaporate, and I don’t think the owners of this place would like us much for that.”

“No, I don’t suppose they would,” the swimmer sniffed, drifting back over to Rin.

The conversation lapsed into companionable silence, and Rin took the opportunity to admire the top of Haru’s head. A cool wind blew above them, and Haru pressed himself even closer.

“For the record, you’re _always_ hot, Haru,” the redhead admitted. It felt so odd to say it aloud, but he didn’t think the other would complain.

“There you go, saying my name again. I’ll have to record that someday. It’s like I have a whole different name when you’re the one saying it.”

“Okay, but don’t make me listen to it. My recorded voice is awful, and I don’t know how you can listen to me without running away screaming.” _Not that my voice is the only reason someone would run away from me screaming, but . . ._

“Come on, your voice is fine,” Haru said, sitting up a bit to meet Rin’s gaze. “Mine, on the other hand . . .”

“Look, we’re just going to have to agree that our recorded voices are different but not awful, okay?” Rin chuckled. “Wanna get out now? I think I might liquify if I stay in the heat much longer.”

“Sure.” Haru could have gotten out right there, but instead he took the opportunity to half-swim, half-walk to the other side and wander around. “It’s freezing out of the water,” he said, shivering.

Rin climbed out of the spring and checked to make sure his hair was still up. When he turned around, he found Haru staring at him. “Um. You okay there?” Rin asked.

“I wish waterproof paint existed,” Haru replied dazedly. “It’d be great to sit here and paint you with the hot springs in the background, and the slightest bit of mist coming off the water, and how the sky is a little bit lighter over there . . .”

“Come on, you nerd,” Rin interrupted, grabbing Haru’s hand and leading him back inside before he could protest. “Stop waxing poetic about the scenery. We’re going to freeze if we stand out here much longer doing nothing.”

It was thankfully not such a busy night, and the shower area was empty. “That was nice,” Haru said, turning on a shower to rinse off. “Are you hungry?”

“Eh, not really,” Rin lied. “I had a lot of food on the train while you were sleeping. Didn’t think you wanted to be woken up.”

“Hmm,” Haru said, and Rin swallowed nervously. “Apparently this place has great katsudon.”

“I’m sure they do.” Rin glanced around for a way to change the subject. “You know, they sure seem to love ice skating around here.” He inclined his head at the various advertisement posters, all of them featuring a man in a flashy suit and ice skates. On closer inspection, Rin realized it was the same man in the posters at the station- hell, some of them were the same poster!

“What? Oh, yeah,” Haru shrugged, patting himself dry with a tiny towel. “Apparently, some guy from here is a really good ice skater. Personally, I’m more about liquid water than frozen, but each to their own.”

Rin rinsed off quickly and nodded, glad to move on from the food conversation. “I’ve never met anyone who loves water like you do.”

“Well, yeah, I kind of need it to live,” Haru stared at the water flowing from the shower head. “I like it, though. That and art. I’m happy as long as I have somewhere to swim and my art supplies. . .”

There was a moment of silence before Rin said, “You’re unbelievable. How does someone like you exist?”

“No idea, but it’s working out alright,” Haru said, stretching. He made his way to their locker and grabbed his large towel to dry off completely. When he finished dressing, he glanced back at Rin, who was still in the process of drying. “I’m going to go see about getting a snack. Sure you don’t want anything?”

“I’m alright, thanks. I’ll get our stuff and meet you out there.” Rin smiled awkwardly until Haru had gone and sighed. “I need to be more careful.”

By the time Rin had gotten dressed, gathered their things, and scrambled back to the entrance, Haru had acquired a candy bar of some sort. “I’m not really tired yet, although that bath was really soothing,” he said. “You wanna go for a walk or something?”

“Yeah, that sounds okay.”

“The ocean’s lovely this time of year,” the innkeeper added, overhearing them. “Just come back whenever; my husband will probably be at the front desk, but I’ll tell him you’ve checked in.”

“Thanks!”

The cool air current coming off the sea was refreshing after the humidity of the springs. The sun had fully set by then, and as Rin and Haru walked along, Rin wished he could freeze the moment and stay there forever.

“You have good taste,” Haru murmured, gazing out over the ocean. “This was a surprisingly decent idea. I’ll have to paint this scene sometime. That and you in the hot spring, of course. Sorry, I’m starting to ramble like a ‘nerd’ again.”

“I actually like when you ramble,” Rin confessed, inhaling the salty ocean air and letting it out in a happy sigh. “I like listening to you talk about what you like.”

_Fuck, that sounded cheesy. But that was romantic, right?_

“Maybe I should talk about you, then,” Haru said, turning away from the waves to look at Rin. In the moonlight, his blue eyes were shot through with silver, and Rin could see every detail of his iris. _If only this moment could last forever._

“Why me?” Rin asked, curious.

“Why _not_ you?” Haru answered, redirecting his gaze to the shoreline a few feet away, where the water lapped gently at the sand. “There’s nothing about you not to admire. Besides, you don’t have a reason to be shy about that- we talked about you before. The first time I painted you.”

 _Don’t bet on that. You still don’t know the half of it,_ Rin thought darkly, but he pushed the cynicism away and tried to focus on the way Haru’s hair glinted in the darkness, like his head was a night sky with its own set of stars. “I’ve always admired _you_ , you know,” he said. “Ever since I first saw you.”

Haru blinked, surprised. “Me? I’m just a mediocre artist who sometimes goes swimming.”

“Don’t sell yourself short like that.” Rin paused for a moment before lightly grabbing Haru’s hand. “Your art is beautiful because you put so much into it. _That’s_ why I like hearing you talk about it. You really care about what you’re talking about, and you’re so passionate.”

Haru said nothing for a few heartbeats, and Rin was afraid he’d said something wrong. The next moment, however, Haru cleared his throat. “Th-that actually means a lot,” he said in a strange voice. “Thank you, Rin.”

 _Oh fuck, I’m making this awkward. What the hell’s wrong with me?_ “I mean it.”

“Yeah.” They stopped walking, and Haru sighed. “But I meant thank you for this, thank you for everything. For the job, for giving me a chance, for-”

“I think you’re worth everything,” Rin said before he could stop himself.

In response, Haru leaned over and kissed him.

 _This is it,_ Rin thought, his eyes closing. _This is the moment I wish we could stay in. Just stay with me, Haru. Stay with me by the ocean, and we can talk and sit in hot springs. We don’t have to be different here._

_Please don’t let me go back to what I am. I want you to remember me, as vivid as I was here._

Haru’s arms twined around Rin’s neck, and in return Rin looped his around Haru’s waist, drawing him ever closer. Haru was the first to pull away, but only slightly. Rin met his gaze and raised a hand to trace Haru’s lips with his thumb. “Thank _you_ , Haru.”

* * *

After they came back from the beach, they sat at the low table before the TV with a bottle of sake between them. Rin noticed Haru eyeing it apprehensively and remembered what Nagisa said about his alcohol tolerance. It made him snort.

“Something funny?” the artist asked. Rin grinned mischievously.

“Nothing,” he cackled. “Just remembered something amusing about your sappiness in regards to the amount of alcohol you consume, that’s all.”

“What has Nagisa been telling you?” Haru groaned.

Rin grinned and passed over his phone, showing Haru his conversation with the blond. “I find it funny that your mind jumped to him so quickly. He did have a lot to say about you, though!”  
  
“I hate him,” Haru intoned, tossing Rin’s phone back over. “I’m never talking to him again. He’s unfriended.” His mouth unconsciously pinched into a pout; Rin thought it was adorable, and resisted the urge to say so. Instead, he nonsensically blurted;

“Isn’t that an American horror movie?”

“What?”

“Unfriended. I’m pretty sure it’s a B-list horror movie. Never mind, it’s not important,” Rin said. Inwardly, he was embarrassed. He’d sworn he had the ability to talk normally a few minutes ago.

Thankfully, the tangent they’d gone on made Haru smile, and Rin found his own lips curving in response. This had gone exceedingly well, despite his reservations and fears. He’d gotten to kiss his pretty crush under the starry sky, just like a shoujo manga. If Nagisa hadn’t pushed him into it, he doubted he would’ve ever gotten this chance. His heart softened.

“Technically, Hazuki was the reason we got together. So you can’t hate him too much,” Rin pointed out. Haru rolled his eyes and conceded.

Just as he was about to speak again, the TV blared with a special news broadcast. The two startled and turned their attention to the screeching device. Looking marginally concerned, the innkeeper walked over.

“Oh, dear,” she said. “I was about to look for sports news. What is it?”

The broadcaster suddenly began to speak, answering the short woman’s question.

“This is an emergency alert for the areas surrounding Tokyo. As you are aware, the capital has been struggling with the activity of beasts called ghouls. For the most part, this activity is rampant in Tokyo’s outer wards, and no reports of ghouls have been announced in other cities. However, the CCG reports that a ghoul has escaped Tokyo, and there are no hints of its whereabouts thus far. It was last seen boarding the Shinkansen early in the morning.”

Rin winced when the reporter referred to the ghoul as an “it.” They had lives too; they were worthy of basic decency just like humans. He could only hope the runaway ghoul got to safety before he was caught.

“This escape happened just after investigators eliminated another ghoul, one who had infiltrated Kamii University under the name of ‘Kirishima Ikuya-’” She continued professionally.

The reporter had no idea what the effect of her statement would be.

Hearing the name Kirishima made Rin blanch. There was a rumor going around that the Rabbits, a brother-sister pair of ukaku ghouls who were downright deadly, were from a family called Kirishima. The picture of Ikuya that had briefly flashed on the screen showed a boy with navy blue hair, just like the Black Rabbit’s. And _that_ Kirishima was part of Aogiri Tree, the largest and most vicious group of ghouls, and the undisputed owners of the 11th Ward. If something had happened to that clan, there was bound to be retribution of some form.

Meanwhile, Haru looked horrified. He hadn’t stopped staring at the screen since the picture had showed. Feeling his stomach twist, Rin slowly asked,

“What’s wrong?”

“I knew him,” Haru replied, sounding like he was still processing everything they’d just seen. “Kirishima, he went to my swim club when we were kids. I had no idea he was… that he was a ghoul. And they killed him?”

“The CCG shows no mercy,” the ghoul answered. There was an unmistakable undercurrent of bitterness in his voice. “Do you think he deserved to die?”  
  
“No!” The vehement reply shocked Rin, and he glanced at Haru, who glared back. “He never did anything wrong when I knew him, and our town never got reports of murders or anything like that. He shouldn’t have had to die- he was just going to school!”

“Sorry,” Rin stuttered. “I didn’t mean it like that. I’m sure he was probably a good person,” Haru shuffled nervously, apparently drained and embarrassed by his uncharacteristic outburst.

“They’re looking for his brother,” the artist said softly. “Kirishima Natsuya. He used to be the captain of our swim club. I don’t think they’ll find him if they aren’t aware of his appearance. He and Ikuya don’t look like siblings.”

Haru almost sounded like he was trying to convince himself. Wordlessly, Rin poured a glass of sake and pushed it toward the other boy. He took it with no hesitation, seemingly still upset and worried. In irritation and an attempt to calm his nerves, Rin started drinking directly from the bottle. He’d likely have to throw it up later, but if alcohol was strong enough, it could affect ghouls the same way it did humans. He thought he deserved that right now.

Red eyes flicked from the TV screen to Haru’s shell-shocked face.

Maybe this hadn’t gone quite so well after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the fic's longest chapter, at just over 4000 words! I'm cry!
> 
> Notes:
> 
> 1\. Tokyo’s Ward system is referenced a lot in this fic, but I don’t think I’ve ever explained it. The city is split into 23 wards (24, as per Tokyo Ghoul, which includes a creepy system of underground tunnels). In both this story and the horror manga, they’re referred to by numbers; 1st, 2nd, 3rd, etc. In reality, they do have names. I’ve stuck the Free! boys in the 1st Ward, Chiyoda, because there’s no other way for them to be so close to CCG headquarters. 
> 
> (Should I have mentioned that before? Yeah. But did I plan this fic well? No.) 
> 
> The 1st Ward in TG is really low in ghoul activity, because, well, the CCG is RIGHT THERE. But we’re gonna throw that out the window for this story, I guess.
> 
> 2\. The town of Hasetsu is- surprise- the town from Yuri on Ice. Why did I put it there? Because Haru loves water, and I had no clue what the FUCK else to do, considering I couldn’t ship them off to Australia this soon. It’s a fictional town, but it’s based off of Karatsu in Saga prefecture, which is near the major city of Fukuoka. It’s a 6 hour, 3 minute train ride from Shibuya Station, Tokyo to Fukuoka. (I ripped off that time from Google, so sorry if it’s inaccurate.) I added extra minutes to accommodate Karatsu’s minor distance from Fukuoka. That was entirely bullshitted. Oops.
> 
> Stupid things I did in the creation of this chapter:
> 
> A. Googled “where is shibuya station.” Apparently, the name wasn’t enough for me.  
> B. Assumed Hasetsu was a real place. It is not.  
> C. Found a map of the TG wards, which was numbered, and continuously switched between it and a map of the wards with names. Did not realize that the TG map had the real ward names on there.  
> D. Neglected a homework assignment that typically takes hours.
> 
> Stupid things Google did in the creation of this chapter:
> 
> A. Responded to “where is shibuya station” with “Japan.” Yes, bitch, I know. Where in Japan? 
> 
> Choice words from my beta/co-author:
> 
> A. you can KILL ME for FREE!!!  
> B. no down payments! no interest! no catch! just straight up murder!!
> 
> We’re a mess. I hope you enjoyed this collective garbage~
> 
> We love you all~


	24. run

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> *whistling* 
> 
> I sure do love me some relationships.
> 
> And some angst~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heyo! It's been a really long time, but I've returned from the war. This update is really short, but it's meant to set up a lot of future stuff, particularly in relationships. 
> 
> Thank you for 396 kudos! I love all of you, I really do~

Makoto honestly had no idea how he’d ended up in a situation so nice.

When he’d mistaken Sousuke’s offer for dinner as a confession, he’d thought the other boy would simply explain the error and leave it at that. But instead, the pair were on their third date, and the investigator had officially requested that Makoto become his boyfriend.

Right now, Sousuke was laughing. The sight of it took the brown haired boy’s breath away. In his unabashed staring, Makoto forgot the joke. Luckily, Sousuke switched topics fairly quickly.

“Okay, okay, so what sport would you have done if you didn’t swim?”

“Um, I’ve never thought about it? I swam ever since I was little, thanks to Haru… maybe I’d do track?” Makoto answered. “What about you?”

“Well, I did mixed martial arts on the side when I was in middle school. I probably would’ve continued with that.”

“Didn’t you have to do combat training to join the CCG?” The paperboy asked curiously. “I thought that intensive training was required to become an investigator.”

“Yeah, but that was for the job, you know? Not recreationally,” the teal eyed boy said. “I enjoyed it a lot more as a kid; that’s for sure. It was less stressful.”

“No threat of dying?” Makoto teased weakly. He didn’t like being reminded of how dangerous being in the CCG was. His anxiety was hard enough to restrain on a regular basis.

Sousuke shook his head.

“Your food, sirs,” a waitress chirped, interrupting their darkening conversation. “One yakisoba and one yakitori platter. Would you like refills on your drinks?”

“Yes, please,” the brown haired boy answered. She nodded and left them to get a pitcher. Sousuke opened his mouth, no doubt to respond to the jibe, but Makoto’s phone buzzed with a text.

He unlocked his phone, grateful for the distraction. It was a message to the group chat from Haru. Makoto raised an eyebrow; Haru rarely ever spoke in the chat, much less messaged it first. What could this be about?

**Haru: rin and i are dating now**

**Nagisa: HWAT**  
  
**Nagisa: DETAILS NOW**

Makoto let out a happy coo and looked up at Sousuke. “My friend’s crush asked him out! Let me respond quickly before I get back to you, okay?” This was probably rude, but Makoto had always made Haru a priority, and now was no exception.

**Makoto: Aw, Haru-chan, congratulations! Did you have your first date?**

**Haru: yeah he took me to the hot springs in hasetsu over the weekend, which was extra, but really nice.**

**Haru: i think i like him a lot.**

**Nagisa: I’M SO HAPPY MY BABY IS GROWING UP AND GETTING DATES (*⌒▽⌒*)θ～♪**

**Makoto: Speaking of dates, I’m actually on one now, so talk to you later! Bye!**

**Nagisa: H W AT!!! BITHC WHY AM I THE ONLY SINGLE (*≧m≦*)**

The errand boy laughed softly and put his phone away, hoping to return to his date on a nicer note.

 

* * *

 

Nagisa strode into Samezuka the next morning with a pout on his face. He couldn’t believe what he’d heard last night. Not one, but both of his friends had gained relationships? Unfair! Granted, he’d been the one to push Rin and Haru together, and he _was_ happy for all of them, but he couldn’t help being a tad bitter.

It was hard for Nagisa to keep a relationship. Something about him always drove other people away, whether it be his excitable demeanor, his short stature, or his ghoul obsession. His pout turned into a scowl. He couldn’t help being the way he was!

“Bad day already?” a melodic voice asked, amused. Nagisa looked up and saw Rei at the counter. To his surprise, the barista had a gentle smile on his face.

“Not really,” he replied. “It’s just- all my friends are suddenly in relationships.”

“Oh? I’d assume this would be a good thing,” the blue haired boy responded. “Are you worried about being left behind?”

“No, no; I know Haru-chan and Mako-chan will always make time for me. It- ugh, I can’t say it. It sounds fucking selfish.”

Rei tossed a towel on the back counter. “I’ll take a short break.”

“That’s great, buddy,” Nagisa said, not comprehending the statement. “Why?”

“To talk to you, of course. You seem like you need it,” Rei proclaimed. “I know I haven’t always been the best company when it comes to you, but I find it very odd to see you without a smile.”

The rose eyed boy felt his brain short circuit, and blindly followed Rei to an empty table. Was this because of the time he’d flirted with him? He didn’t understand what was happening in the slightest.

When they were stated, Nagisa tried to think of a way to tell the truth and not sound like an asshole. “Um, well, I’ve never been the best with relationships, and this just serves to remind me of it, I guess? It sounds self-centered, but I swear I am happy for them.”

Rei nodded, unfazed. “I think that’s a normal feeling. When you see other people attaining happiness around you, it’s natural to want that for yourself. I don’t think it makes you selfish… unless you start trying to sabotage them.”

“I would never,” Nagisa denied vehemently. “That’s too cruel to do to anyone, much less your childhood friends. Would you want to break Rin and Haru up?”

Rei sighed. “I was against their relationship at first, I won’t lie. It was also for… personal reasons. However, I see that they’re quite happy around each other now. Therefore, I won’t do anything to damage that,” he paused for a minute, deliberating his next words. “And if you’re really worried about not being able to date anyone, why don’t the two of us go out?”

Nagisa’s brain short circuited again.

 

-

 

Internally, Rei was screaming. _Why did I say that?! What is wrong with me? I tried to kill him- this is wrong on so many levels..._

He couldn’t bring himself to regret it, though, not when the tiny human’s face had split into the sunniest smile he’d ever seen.

 

* * *

 

It was another late night shift, which wasn’t too unusual. Rin and Haru were alone, straightening the shop up before closing. There was soft music playing from his phone, and the lighting was dimmed. If it were a movie, it would certainly be part of a romantic scene.

“Whose turn is it to take out the trash?” Haru huffed. Rin wrinkled his nose. Taking the trash out was always difficult for him; it made already rancid human food smell even more disgusting.

“I think it’s yours.”

Haru rolled his eyes. “Why do I feel you’re trying to get out of work?”  
  
“Hey,” the redhead protested. “I do work! I’m gonna clean all the shit that spilled behind the counter! Remember Nitori knocked over, like, three different containers? One of them was chocolate sauce- someone’s gotta take care of it.”

“The way you tried to justify it is even more suspicious,” Haru said, but he was already gathering the bulky trash bags. Rin grinned cheekily.

“I’ll make it up to you, babe~”

Haru rolled his eyes with even more exasperation, but his face was tinted pink. He slipped out the shop’s back exit to dispose of the garbage.

Rin smiled triumphantly and went to get a mop from the storage room. As he did, he heard a sudden crash from the alley, like something heavy had slammed into a hard surface. Straightening, the ghoul called, “Yo, Haru, you alright?”

There was no response.

Gripped by sudden apprehension, Rin quickly strode to the back door and flung it open. The stench of fear hit him almost immediately.

Because a ghoul had Haru pinned to the grimy wall with a clawed hand.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What Rei said might seem really random, so let me explain. Rei's been struggling with how he feels about Nagisa, but he's come to the realization that he likes Nagisa's happiness a lot more than his sadness. Also, in a future chapter, stuff about his own struggle with relationships will come up. Then you'll understand why he empathized seeing Nagi's problem.
> 
> Unbeta'd, so forgive mistakes.
> 
> Title taken from "RUN" by BTS, because I was listening to the Young Forever CDs when I wrote this.
> 
> Tell me what you thought~ Bye!


	25. time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> *walks in a month later* did... did someone want a reveal?
> 
> Mild gore.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *looks at date* Oops.
> 
> Y'all, I'm really sorry about the wait- classes have been kicking my gotdam ass. I've cried like twice this weekend.
> 
> But here's the moment you've been waiting for: the Reveal™! It's not very long, but the fallout will be. *laughs*
> 
> Thank you so fucking much for 405 kudos!! That is literally the most I've ever gotten, I'm crign... I love you all~

**Previously on this shitshow...**

_Haru rolled his eyes with even more exasperation, but his face was tinted pink. He slipped out the shop’s back exit to dispose of the garbage._

_Rin smiled triumphantly and went to get a mop from the storage room. As he did, he heard a sudden crash from the alley, like something heavy had slammed into a hard surface. Straightening, the ghoul called, “Yo, Haru, you alright?”_

_There was no response._

_Gripped by sudden apprehension, Rin quickly strode to the back door and flung it open. The stench of fear hit him almost immediately._

_Because a ghoul had Haru pinned to the grimy wall with a clawed hand._

 

* * *

 

For someone like Haru, tragedies had always been distant. They were tiny segments in the news, the tears of others. But never his. Because even when bad things happen around them, one assumes- childishly-, “That could never happen to me.”

Haru was ashamed he’d thought like that too, for now his death was a very real possibility.

He’d just been _taking out the trash_. It was a completely mundane task; nothing should have gone wrong on his way to the nearby dumpster and back. Yet a ghoul had descended from the rooftop with hunger in its eyes, and it pinned him against the wall with a painful slam.

“Finally,” the ghoul growled, kagune lashing behind it. “I was starting to think there was no one out tonight.”

Haru kicked weakly, struggling to breathe. Panic consumed him. He was slowly inching toward blacking out, the clawed hand crushing his throat tightening even further.

He was going to die alone. Would anyone come to his funeral? Makoto and Nagisa, perhaps out of obligation, but his parents likely wouldn’t. Haru could only hope his ashes would be released into a river, so the water could be with him in death.

Suddenly, a red blur flashed behind the ghoul, and it was thrown halfway across the alley. Haru dropped to the ground and wheezed helplessly. Looking up through his lashes with blurred vision, the artist realized that his savior was Rin.

Rin, who now stood between him and the ghoul.

“Who the fuck do you think you are?” the ghoul snarled. It picked itself up off the ground, cracking its knuckles. “Getting in my way?”

Rin growled. It was a low, rumbling sound that would probably be hot if they weren’t in these fucking circumstances. “Haru, run.”

He couldn’t even stand. Weakly, Haru dragged his hand through the gravel, at least making an attempt to sit up. But black spots from his near death were still winking in his vision, and fear choked him.

“You think you can save your little boyfriend?” The monster asked incredulously. The gold kagune hardened at the tip, rearing up behind it like a snake.

“Can’t be too hard when my competition is a third-rate shit like you,” Rin returned calmly. Haru gasped. Why was he antagonizing it? Why was he acting like he stood a chance?

The ghoul roared and struck, the tail plowing into the ground as Rin leapt aside. Gravel flew into the air and pelted Haru’s prone body. It readied itself for another strike, mouth twisted in an ugly smile.

“You can’t run forever.”

Rin ignored it with supreme nonchalance. Fluidly, he twisted out of the way of another blow, taking the time to call, “Haru, please, go-”

“Neither of you are fucking leaving!”

Fed up with the game of cat and mouse, the ghoul leapt at his boyfriend. Haru squeezed his eyes shut, not wanting to see the inevitable bloodbath.

The sickening squelch he heard was disgusting. The swimmer almost vomited at how awful it was, the sound of a life being cut short. And he’d thought he’d have time with Rin.

He was shocked to hell when he heard Rin’s voice.

“Now look what you’ve fucking done,” the redhead muttered darkly. “I wasn’t looking for a fight tonight, but your dumbass just _had_ to come here.”

Haru’s eyes snapped open. The sight he saw was one he’d never seen before.

Four, ribbon like appendages had bloomed from the small of Rin’s back, opening like a demented flower. One of them had skewered the ghoul like a piece of meat. Blood dripped to the ground steadily, and the ghoul watched it in a daze.

The ribbons whipped to the side, smashing the ghoul into the wall just as he had done to Haru. The one currently embedded in its abdomen withdrew and shot forward again, barely missing the other’s head.

Now, logically, Haru knew what this meant. Rin was a ghoul. A man eating monster, just like the ones he’s heard about on the news.

(Just like the one that almost killed him.)

But his mind couldn’t connect this image to that of the sweet Rin who dragged him to Hasetsu, who raced him for fun, who called him baby and kissed him so softly and tentatively.

Haru couldn’t.

-

The fight was short and brutal. To an SS Class like the Shark, a puny bikaku from the gutter was nothing. When everything was over, the other ghoul was nothing but a bloodied heap on the ground.

A self-satisfied, demented smirk curved the Shark’s lips, revealing row after row of jagged teeth.

The moment passed, and a soft whimper broke the silence. The Shark suddenly remembered he had an audience.

His smirk vanished.

-

Rin had never wanted Haru to find out like this. If their relationship really had progressed far, at some point, he would have eventually told him. It would’ve been hard, but it would have been on Rin’s terms.

This… this hadn’t been a situation he could control.

Panting slightly, he glanced over his shoulder. Haru was slumped against the wall. Quickly, the ghoul stepped forward and checked him over for injuries. The human’s throat would bruise, but aside from that, he seemed alright.

At least until Rin reached out for him. Haru flinched violently, scrambling back into the wall.

The ghoul’s hand froze in midair, and he winced. The reaction wasn’t too unexpected, but it hurt. Rin willed his kagune away, felt his teeth dull and the darkness in his sclera fade.

Haru still looked afraid. Shakily, he stood, brushing off Rin’s attempts at help.

“Haru,” Rin started nervously. He just wanted the artist to look at him, dammit. “Please talk to me.”

“What is there to say?” Haru’s head snapped up. He rounded on Rin, blue eyes wide in furious terror. “You’re- you’re one of them. Why would- why did you help me? Are you saving me for yourself?”

“No!” Rin defended. “I wouldn’t have-”

But he would be lying if he said he hadn’t thought of at least taking a bite. He’d be lying if he said the debate over killing Haru had never been real.

“Just- please leave me alone,” Haru whispered. His voice faded from angry to plaintive. “I need time.”

Rin watched him walk away, gingerly stepping around the wreckage of the fight. Pain like he’d never felt before bloomed in his chest. It was worse than any wound from a fight.

He’d thought he’d have more time with Haru.

Silently, the redhead followed Haru via rooftops, ensuring his safety before escaping into the night.

 

* * *

 

Far away, an auction was being held. However, the one running it was less than pleased with her merchandise.

She dug her kagune into her lackey’s neck, hissing, “I expect better than this. Go out into the 1st Ward if you have to; I don’t give a damn about your life. Your wares are what’s important. Understand me?”

He nodded in terror.

The Nutcracker offered him a smile with blackened, vicious teeth. “Good.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact: the chapter was originally going to be named "blood, sweat, and tears," but a succint "time" ended up being a better fit.
> 
> Stay tuned for Relationship Drama™ and also, Nagisa. Because Nagisa.
> 
> Blizzard out~ *cartwheels away*


	26. a sudden heart attack, overwhelmed in the end

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> *dabs so hard my arms fall off* did someone say reigisa date?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *me, already crying* here it is, folks... the moment where shit hits the fan.
> 
> I'm sure you're tired of hearing it, but I'm so sorry this was late ;; life mcfreaking killed me. I'm praying it stops that shit soon.
> 
> Thank you for 423 kudos! You're the greatest readers of all <3
> 
> For context: this is three days after the events of last chapter. Haru has not told anyone about what happened, and both he and Rin are hiding from the world like idiots.

Rei met Nagisa under the awning of a very questionable antique shop.

“Nagisa… I understand that you wanted to pick the place we were meeting, but why here?” He asked, eyeing the voodoo doll in the store’s window warily.

The blond put his hands on his hips. “Duh! It’s easy to find! Also, I kind of wanted to see how you’d react to it. Isn’t it quaint?”

“My reaction,” Rei deadpanned, “is solely disgust.”

He swore the doll twitched at the words.

“Of course it is. Lucky you, though, we’re not staying here,” Nagisa chirped. He reached into the pocket of his oversized jacket and pulled out four tickets. Upon squinting at them, Rei realized that two were for the train, and two were for…

“An aquarium?"

“Yeah! I thought it would be fun, and, um… you said I could pick,” he trailed off, looking anxious. “Please don’t hate it! The other place I had in mind was the CCG lab, and I don’t think that’s too fun. Unless you wanna see dissected kagune. Do you-”

Rei winced. “The aquarium is more than fine. Lead the way.”

While they were seated on the train, Rei noticed Nagisa fidgeted with the ends of his sleeves. It was cute, he realized. A childish habit that suited the blond.

“Hey, Rei-chan,” Nagisa suddenly asked. “I don’t mean to be rude, but why exactly did you invite me on a date? Like, you didn’t even want to look at me a while ago, and now we’re going to go stare stupidly at captive marine life for like, an hour. Together. With no one else here.”

Sighing, the ghoul answered, “Quite frankly, it was an impulsive decision. You sounded upset, first of all. And I can… empathize with being on the outside of relationships all the time. I’ve never been in one.”

“You?” Nagisa said doubtfully. “But Rei-chan, you’re really attractive, you know?”

Rei reddened and adjusted his glasses to hide the blush. “Well, perhaps objectively… but the truth is that I never felt the same attraction that other people did. It’s hard for me to make friends, but almost impossible to find someone I want to date. I honestly never have.”

Nagisa was silent for a minute. A little desperately, Rei blurted, “Does that make me weird?”

“Oh, I don’t think so. Rei-chan, it sounds like you’re demisexual. Or maybe asexual. Have you heard those words before?”

“Er, no. What do they mean?”

“The first one… it’s like you have to be good friends with someone before you want to date them, or sleep with them. Usually for months or years. And the other means you just don’t experience attraction of that sort.”

“It… it would make sense,” Rei said. “Maybe that’s why I thought Rin was being rash when it came to Haru.” _Well, they’re also different species entirely, and Rin could end up getting killed if Haru finds out, but Nagisa doesn’t need to know that._

“Maybe so,” Nagisa agreed, his eyes shining. “But that’s not important right now. Come on, this is our stop!”

He pulled Rei though the train station and into the sunlight, waving past pedestrians to get to their destination. The ukaku could do nothing but sigh and follow along. He hoped this would be entertaining.

 

-

 

Rei would be hard pressed to admit it to someone’s face, especially a teasing Gou’s, but he really did have fun. Sumida Aquarium was huge, boasting many stylish exhibits and art displays. Rei spent a solid five minutes videotaping the turtles swimming past a little underwater tunnel, and he had to snap pictures with a flailing manta ray apparently named “Sea Pancake.”

Perhaps the most enjoyable was seeing Nagisa light up like Christmas when he saw the penguin exhibit. He dashed over to their habitat and smushed his face and palms against the glass, just like the group of gawking schoolchildren beside them.

“You really do like penguins, don’t you,” Rei said wryly, coming to stand beside the blond. One of the animals drifted past them, and Nagisa cooed.

“Of course I do! They’re my favorite animal. Why do you think I got so mad when you broke that keychain?”

Rei blinked. “Wasn’t it a gift from Haru?”

“Yeah, but I love all sorts of penguins, so it really sucked seeing it broken,” he sniffed. “Oh, look, there are babies!”

Sure enough, there were smaller penguins tottering around on the fake icebergs lining the pool. One of them flopped in, sending up a large splash. The others followed with more grace, prompting exclamations from the crowd.

“They’re cute,” Rei admitted. “I guess.”

“You ‘guess.’ Then what’s your favorite animal?” Nagisa retorted. “I bet it’s something lame, like a… like a hippo!”

“They’re majestic creatures and don’t deserve your disrespect,” the blue haired boy said with a straight face. Nagisa cracked up, making more than a few other visitors eye them with distaste.

“I can’t even tell if you’re joking,” he wheezed. “Are you?”

Tugging Nagisa away from the penguins before security was called, Rei said, “I don’t have an opinion on hippos either way. I do like butterflies, though. If that counts.”

“They’re insects, but whatever,” Nagisa laughed. “Oh, there’s a gift shop! Let’s go in; I want to buy a penguin plushie. I don’t even care if this place is overpriced.”

Rei let Nagisa lead the way again, feeling more and more like he was caught in a whirlwind. He stood awkwardly by the display of children’s books as his companion flitted around the shop. Noticing the shop attendant looking at him with curiosity, Rei picked up the first thing he saw- a book about sharks- and started reading.

 _I could buy this for Rin,_ he thought. _But he’d probably lose his mind. No, I should; this one looks just like him._

Rei walked over to the cashier and bought it before he could regret his decision. Nagisa wandered over to the till after him, arms full of a giant plush and assorted trinkets, which he had to awkwardly shove at the poor worker.

“What did you buy, Rei-chan?” the blond asked, rifling through his wallet. “I didn’t know you were the type to go for cutesy stuff like this.”

“I bought a book about sharks,” said Rei sheepishly, “to annoy Rin.” Of course, he couldn’t explain the entirety of the joke, but Nagisa would surely assume something without his fumbling lies in the way.

“Please tell me what he says, oh my god. But you didn’t get something for yourself?” Nagisa waved goodbye to the cashier as he grabbed his bags.

The violet eyed boy followed. “No, I wasn’t planning to. Why?”

Stopping in the middle of the hallway, Nagisa smiled slyly. “Good thing I did.”

“Huh?”

The blond reached into the smaller bag and pulled out a little keychain. Dangling from the end was a purple butterfly, its wings catching the light as they twisted in midair.

Rei’s heart twinged in a way it never had before. Raising a shaky hand, he accepted the gift.

 

-

 

The ghoul had mostly recovered by the time they walked to the aquarium’s little cafe for a snack. Nagisa squinted at the sandwiches on display. Rei watched him from a small table, listening to snippets of other people’s conversations.

“-heard she went here with her boyfriend, so I thought that I’d try it-”

“-would be SO messed up if they sold seafood here-”

“-really hope Katsuki-kun wins gold this season! He deserves it-”

“-mommy, I wanna see the pretty fish, please-”

“Rei-chan! Earth to Rei-chan!” He snapped out of it and looked to his friend. “What do you wanna eat? Doesn’t everything look good?”  
  
Privately, he thought it looked (and smelled) absolutely disgusting, but he couldn’t say that without getting kicked out of the cafe. “I’m not really hungry. Water’s fine, though.”

“Are you sure? I’m still paying!”

“I’m sure! Now stop yelling across the shop like a child, I’m begging.”

Nagisa snorted when he sat down. “I take offense. I screech like a hyena, not a child.”

“The screeching hurts people’s ears either way, so stop it,” Rei retorted. The rose eyed boy stuck out his tongue.

“You’re no fun.”

“I’m trying to keep you from embarrassing yourself in public! There are other people here. Did you just forget?”

Nagisa stuffed the entire sandwich into his mouth. “I’m perfectly aware, and they can all deal with it. If little kids get to scream in public, so should I. They don’t even have real problems.”

“And what, pray tell, are your problems,” Rei asked. They certainly couldn’t be worse than living in constant fear of your life.

“Everyone at the CCG is crazy. Like, there’s this inspector called Juuzou, right? And when I went for my conference, he shoved his Quinque in this kid’s face! He’s kinda creepy. Plus, I’m pretty sure our superior was an English teacher in another life, because she won’t stop saying these stupid quotes. She doesn’t even use them in the right situation.”

“I’m pretty sure you knew most people at the CCG were crazy before you signed up,” Rei pointed out. “A job like that can’t be good for the psyche.”

Nagisa sighed. “Yeah, I have to ask Mako-chan if his boyfriend is wildin’ too. There’s this girl on his squad that’s supposed to be unhinged. Kumiko, I think? Kamiko? Something like that.”

As Nagisa chattered, Rei’s phone buzzed. Frowning, he picked it up.

**Gou: rei have you heard from rin lately please say yes**

**Rei: No? He hasn’t been at work. I assumed he was taking time off because of school.**

**Rei: And why are you asking me? Don’t you live with him?**

**Gou: he’s holed up in his room he won’t come out something happened**

**Rei: What? What could it have been?**

**Gou: let me ask one more time maybe he’ll answer me now that he isn’t crying 24/7**

“Rei-chan? What’s wrong?”

“Something’s up with Rin. He hasn’t been around the shop, so I thought he was busy with other obligations, but Gou is panicking…” Rei frowned at the screen.

**Gou: FUCK FUCK**

**Rei: ??!**

**Gou: HE SAID HARU KNOWS**

**Gou: HARU FOUND OUT SOMEHOW HOLY SHIT WE’RE SO FUCKED ISN’T HIS FRIEND WITH CCG**

Rei dropped his phone in horror. The people surrounding them glanced their way, mundane chatter interrupted by the loud crack of the screen meeting the table. Nagisa flinched.

“What’s wro-”

The ukaku didn’t even wait for him to finish his sentence. “Have you heard from Haru recently?”

Bewildered, the human shook his head. “No, not for three days. Wh-”

“And that isn’t weird to you?” He asked. “Nagisa, please.”

“No, sometimes we go a week or more without talking to each other or Mako-chan. Our schedules don’t align at all unless we make them. Rei-chan, seriously, what’s going on?”  
  
“Call him, “ Rei demanded. He needed to know exactly what Haru was doing right now. The other boy could’ve well already gone to the CCG if he hadn’t fled Tokyo in terror.

Nagisa pulled out his phone and dialed. It went to voicemail immediately.

“He rejected the call,” the blond said in shock. “He never rejects my calls.”

“We have to go!” Rei stood and stormed out of the aquarium, Nagisa struggling to follow while carrying his bags.

“Rei, I swear to fucking god, tell me what’s happening!”

Shit, he couldn’t tell the truth. “I think Haru and Rin broke up and Rin’s freaking out! We have to get back to Chiyoda right now!”

They rushed to the train station, earlier happiness forgotten in the eddies of anxiety.

 

* * *

 

Nagisa was calling again. Haru swiped the red bar without thinking, rejecting the call. He stared at the ceiling, which he had become familiar with over the past three days. There were cracks there that he had never noticed before.

Listlessly, he moved his gaze to the wall. What was wrong with him? He could barely feel, just like the time when swimming had lost its appeal.

Haru hadn’t left his bed, much less the apartment, since he’d been attacked. A combination of nerves and sadness trapped him within the walls of his home, which had never seemed so isolated before.

_Should I be scared? Should I be angry?_

Haru couldn’t really fault Rin from hiding things from him. But then again, he couldn’t have a relationship built on lies. And things had been going so well, too. He liked Rin, he liked him so much.

But did Rin think of him as a person? Or was he just food?

He looked to his phone. The notification bar said he had two missed calls from Nagisa, five emails from various professors, and thirteen missed calls from Rin.

_I don’t want to think anymore._

When Haru didn’t want to think, he turned to the water. Grimacing as he got up, he grabbed his phone and drifted out the door, bag of swim gear in tow.

The light outside was harsh after the dim confines of the apartment. Haru was so busy blinking spots from his eyes, he didn’t notice the person following him as he started walking to the college.

Only a few yards from his apartment, the person struck. Haru barely had time to scream before he was dragged away, into a narrow space between two buildings. The assailant jabbed his neck with a needle and depressed the plunger.

“Shush, now, human. It’ll be over quicker if you stop squirming.”

Haru struggled desperately, his mind flickering back to when he’d been attacked only a few nights ago. The bruises hadn’t even faded, and here he was being kidnapped.

_Help… Rin. Help._

His fingers slackened, and his phone hit the concrete. The person stepped on it hard enough to crack the screen, idly tossed the swimmer’s bag into the trash, and hummed a cheery tune.

“Well, Boss will be happy. This one’s pretty enough to sell for millions.”

He walked to a black van, an unconscious Haru in his arms. The driver sped away the second they entered.

On the ground, the phone vibrated madly.

3 missed calls: Nagisa

14 missed calls: Rin ❤︎

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please don't... hurt... me...
> 
> Me: they literally just got together! and now this shit is happening! wtf!!
> 
> Also me: what's another word for alley? "narrow space between two buildings?" sounds right
> 
> Well, everything's gonna come to a head soon! Enjoy the rest of this wild ass ride.
> 
> Notes: I will go down with Demi Rei. Y'all won't stop me. (Also, I know the difference between romanticism and sexuality- it's just that Nagisa doesn't explain it super thoroughly. So Rei is demirom, demisexual, but that might not have come across all the way OTL)
> 
> Sumida Aquarium is a real place (known for their penguins!), but I've never been, so it's based off this aquarium I went to in Germany. I actually sat on the floor in front of the manta tank and video'd them for like five minutes like a loser. I also bought crystals for 5 Euro because I am that weak for pretty witchcraft things.
> 
> There is yet another YoI ref in here. RIP.
> 
> Title lifted from EXO's Heart Attack, which (in my opinion) is their greatest fucking song. A masterpiece. 10/10
> 
> See ya~


	27. tick tock, tick tock- let it all be fulfilled

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> *aggressive banjo* The descent to hell continues!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *me, squinting at this chapter* what a ride
> 
> So, here continues the trend of Everyone Finding Out! A plan to save Haru finally gets created! I'm screaming, and you probably are too!
> 
> Thank you for 432 kudos! I'm love you~
> 
> This takes place during (the during is only a little bit at the beginning) and immediately after the events of the last chapter.

Rin and Gou sat in their living room, both of them fidgeting anxiously. Rin was gnawing on his lip with sharpened teeth, breaking the skin, only for it to reform seconds later. Gou tapped her fingers against her phone case.

_ Tap… tap… tap. _

“How did he find out? Did you tell him?” Gou finally asked. She glared at Rin. “You’ve literally been together for like, a second-”

“I didn’t tell him. He saw,” her brother replied. “I couldn’t stop him from watching.”

Gou threw up her hands. “You can’t seriously mean he interrupted you on a hunt! How would he know it was you, anyway? You wear a damn mask!”

Shaking his head, he vehemently snapped, “It wasn’t that! Another ghoul attacked him when we were closing the cafe. I wasn’t going to let him die when I could do something; I had to kill the ghoul. Haru saw it all happen, and he didn’t- didn’t react well. After that, he told me to leave him alone, so I didn’t come to work. But… I tried calling him, over and over. He didn’t pick up.”

He sounded broken. Gou sighed heavily.

“Well, the one solace we have is that he didn’t call CCG. At first I freaked out, but I figured if he had, we’d already be dead or in Cochlea. Besides,” the girl trailed off. “He hasn’t come to work either. I think the shock just got to him. You might have a shot at fixing this.”

“I didn’t want this,” the rinkaku said. He angrily swiped his hand across his eyes. “I wanted to tell him on my own fucking terms, not… not like this.”

Gou’s mouth twisted sadly. She began to reach across the table, but a frantic pounding at the door interrupted her. Seeing as her brother wasn’t about to get up, she strode to the wood panel, only for it to burst open. 

Rei stood behind it, panting heavily. “What happened, Matsuoka-senpai?”

Quietly, Rin relayed the story again. Rei pinched the bridge of his nose.

“Well. This is quite the mess. I was with Nagisa-kun, so I sent him to go find Haru. He doesn’t know the truth; however, I am sure he can do some damage control.”

“What did you tell him?” Gou questioned, deciding not to ask why he’d been with someone he nearly murdered.

“I may have told him that they broke up.” He admitted, wincing.

Rin muttered bitterly, “That might as well be true. He doesn’t even want to hear my voice. You were right, guys, this was a terrible idea.”

The ukaku moved to console him, but they were interrupted by a blaring ringtone. Rei frowned and pulled out his phone, hitting the speakerphone button for easy access. Immediately, Nagisa’s voice called,

“Rei-chan! Haru-chan… he’s gone!”

The panic in his voice led the ghouls to believe this wasn’t normal. Carefully, Rei said, “Did he just go out for a walk? Or to the store? He has responsibilities-”

Nagisa emitted a high-pitched, frustrated noise. “Rei, listen to me! He’s gone!”

His next words chilled them all to the bone. 

“I found his phone smashed on the pavement and his swim gear in the dumpster! I think… I think he was kidnapped!”

 

-

 

Rin felt frozen. Slowly, he turned to his sister, making sure they were hearing the same words. Rei inhaled sharply.    


“Nagisa, stay where you are,” he said. “We’ll come to you.”

“'We?'” Nagisa asked, but the ukaku hung up. 

The trio hurriedly scrambled out of their apartment complex and made their way into the street. Assuming they were going to Haru’s apartment, Rin took the lead and guided them to a much nicer part of the ward. It didn’t take long before they found Nagisa, who was nervously pacing in the mouth of a nearby alley.

“Oh, shit, you brought Rin-chan. Rei-chan, why are you like this?” Rin heard the blond mutter. “They just broke up, and now he has to deal with this.”

“What happened?” Gou asked. Nagisa wordlessly held out a phone. The cover had a picture of The Great Wave Off Kanagawa printed on it, instantly alerting them that it was Haru’s. The screen was absolutely shattered, as if someone had stepped on it.

“I found this only a few meters away, and like I said, his bag is in the trash. It’s stuck to something, though; I couldn’t get it out.”

Rin ran to the dumpster and grabbed the strap of the bag. He yanked it out easily, even though his stomach rolled at the disgusting scent of trash it brought with it. 

“It’s blatantly obvious foul play was involved,” Rei mused. “The question is, who did this? And why?”

The four of them looked at each other, but Rin noticed Gou’s nose twitching. He watched as her face went from shocked, to angry, to knowing.

“Gou, what is it,” he said flatly. “What did you… figure out?” He barely stopped himself from saying “smell.”

“You know about the Nutcracker, right? The ghoul who, uh, kills men and crushes their nuts?”

“I’ve heard of her,” Nagisa replied. “But it can’t be her! Otherwise… otherwise there would be a body, right? So Haru could still be alive?”

His voice was pleading. Rei shuffled toward him and awkwardly patted his shoulder in comfort, waiting for Gou to continue.

The koukaku fidgeted. “Nagisa, that’s not the only thing she does. She runs an auction for the rich ghouls. The merchandise is pretty humans. Usually girls, but every so often she’ll take a boy. It doesn’t matter as long as she can sell them for millions of yen.”

“Why is she here?” Rei exclaimed. “This isn’t her territory, or even her usual hunting ground!”

“Don’t ask me how her mind works. You know she’s crazy!”

Rin ground his teeth together, rage bubbling in his chest. How dare she. How dare she walk into their territory, how dare she take what was  _ his- _

“We have to get him back,” Rin spoke before his mind caught up to his body. “We need to find him before she holds the next auction. Rei, you still have your family inheritance, don’t you?”

“You want us to buy our way in?” Gou said in surprise. “But we don’t mix with that crowd! They’ll tell that we’re newcomers, right?”

“We’d be paying customers, though,” the ukaku pointed out. Rin could tell he was seriously considering it.

“Wait, what the hell are you talking about? We should get the CCG, shouldn’t we?” Nagisa protested. “We’d all fucking die if we went to some ghoul auction!”

Rin stared at the ground. Was it worth telling him? He worked with CCG. But this was the only way to find Haru before it was too late. When the red haired boy looked at Rei and Gou, he could tell they had come to the same conclusion.

Rei glanced at the street to make sure no one was nearby, while Gou tried to find any security cameras. Upon realizing they were in the clear, the ghouls hesitated. Who would be the one to reveal their secret?

Finally, the blue haired boy sighed. He took off his glasses and pressed them into Gou’s hand. Nagisa blinked in confusion.

“Rei-chan?”

There was a soft sound, something like  _ fwip _ , as Rei’s kagune unfurled from his back. The violet and ruby wings rippled in the air. His sclera darkened, and his pupils turned a violent blood orange.

“As you can see, we’re not exactly helpless.”

Nagisa stared. And stared longer. His eyes didn’t move from the pulsing ukaku. Rin cursed himself, beginning to calculate. He could probably cover the blond’s mouth before he started screaming, and his sister could grab him before he ran too far away-

“...is this why you said you liked butterflies? Seriously, Rei-chan? I should take that charm back and buy you a hippo one, because that’s bullshit.” 

The tension drained from the air. Gou mouthed “what the fuck?” at Rin, who shrugged helplessly. Rei’s shoulders slumped, and then he started laughing.

“Well, they’re beautiful,” he replied. “What can I say?”

“Uh, ‘sorry for almost killing you, Nagisa, I actually think you’re pretty cool?’” Rin said wryly. 

Waving a hand, the human said, “Forget the murder attempt; you got over it, didn’t you?”

Rei buried his face in his hands, faintly shaking. Rin wasn’t sure if it was from relief or happiness. His heart ached. Why couldn’t he have had a reaction as blase as that from Haru? Granted, Rei and Nagisa weren’t together, but it didn’t feel fair.

“I’m gonna assume you guys are also ghouls?” Nagisa prompted. He absentmindedly poked one of Rei’s wings as he addressed the siblings. “Oh, it’s warm!”

“Um… yeah. And you aren’t scared? We could all kill you pretty easily. Hell, like Rin said, Rei already tried,” Gou asked.

He shrugged. “I think ghouls are cool, remember? And even though I do want to help fight them, because of something that happened to my sister, I have the basic sense to say not all of you are evil. You’re my friends too, aren’t you?”

Gou sniffed. “Bless you, Nagisa. But we should really stop standing here and go back home- we need to plan.”

Rei retracted his wings and nodded. “I’ll have to speak to my mother about getting the money. I’m not sure how much she’ll offer.”

“A hundred million yen is probably the minimum,” Rin said, leading them back to his place. “Will she even be willing to give you that?”

“If I explain, maybe? But then she might ask why I’m doing this for a human…”

“Tell her I’ll take responsibility and pay her back,” the redhead decided. They filed into the apartment, and Nagisa suddenly cursed.

“What?”

“Mako-chan,” he groaned. “What the hell am I gonna tell him? He has to know; it’s going to be harder to explain if Haru-chan really does end up dying.”

“Just call him,” Gou suggested. “Don’t tell him about us; just say that Haru’s gone, and we’re going to find a way to get him back.”

Nagisa pulled out his phone and called Makoto.

 

* * *

 

In retrospect, perhaps it wasn’t the most professional thing to make out in Sousuke’s office, but no one needed to know that’s what they were up to. Makoto wasn’t busy, Sousuke felt he deserved a break, and his office was empty. Really, it was only natural that they took advantage of the time and space.

Sousuke was very close to just dragging Makoto home with him, at least until the brunet’s phone rang. He gently pushed his boyfriend away and answered.

“Nagisa? What is… why are you telling me to stay calm? You know I can’t be calm if you say something like- what. Nagisa, please tell me you’re joking.”

The flat horror in his tone concerned the inspector. He mouthed “what’s going on?” at Makoto, only for him to shriek,

“WHAT DO YOU MEAN HARU WAS KIDNAPPED?!”

Sousuke gasped. Makoto’s face was sheet white, and he hopped off the desk, nervously pacing in front of it.

“And you think he was kidnapped by a- that’s it. I’m coming over. And I’m bringing Sousuke- no, don’t tell me I can’t; I feel like I’m going to have a heart attack, and  _ someone _ has to give me moral support. Huh- yes, Nagisa, we’re going to involve the CCG! What’s wrong with- don’t hang up on me!”

“Makoto, what happened?” The inspector asked. “That didn’t make a lot of sense.”

The other’s face twisted. “Apparently,” he started, voice shrill with agitation, “Haru was kidnapped by a ghoul, and now Nagisa doesn’t want to involve the police or CCG because ‘his friends have a plan.’ I can’t believe him!”

“Your friend was kidnapped by a ghoul? Shit, okay, let me contact one of the higher level squads. I can get Mikoshiba and the rest of mine to help too!”

“Give me a second,” Makoto requested. He pulled out his phone and called his friend back, only to have it go to voicemail. Undeterred, he yelled, “Nagisa, if you don’t tell me where you  _ fucking _ are, I will set your telescope on fire!” into the receiver before hanging up.

Seconds later, his phone pinged with a message, and he grabbed Sousuke by the wrist. While dragging the bewildered man out of the office, he bemoaned, “I didn’t want you to meet my friends like this!”

 

-

 

The address Makoto had been sent belonged to an apartment in the same part of town where Sousuke had once been attacked. He wrinkled his nose, wishing his boyfriend had given him time to grab his Quinque before rushing away. Makoto didn’t seem to have any fear, a shockingly uncharacteristic trait that led the investigator to believe Makoto really was much stronger than he seemed.

A redhead answered the door when the brunet knocked furiously. Her eyes widened when she looked at Sousuke, but she let them in nonetheless.

“Where is my best friend?” Makoto snapped without preamble. Those in the room all looked to him, apparently deliberating what to say. When Sousuke gave them a onceover, something flickered in his mind, making him deeply uneasy. What was it?

Two redheads. A boy with dark blue hair… 

They introduced themselves. Matsuoka Rin and Gou. Ryuugazaki Rei. A blond, who he realized was Nagisa.

Sousuke stared at the group of people assembled before him. Pieces of a conversation floated back to him, and the niggling fear in his stomach started to make sense.

_ Some time back, he had traveled to the 3rd Ward to have a proper conversation with Associate Special Class Kuroo Tetsurou and his team about the Animals. Although his superiors had promised to call them in, they never did, leading the teal eyed man to take it up himself. He stepped out of the train and made his way to the branch office, briefcase dangling from his hand. _

_ On the way, he came across a worrying scene. A short boy with badly dyed blond hair was backing away from a woman, who loomed over him threateningly. Unnerved, Sousuke moved closer, trying not to alarm the pair or startle anyone else, and that was when he saw it. _

_ A glimpse of pitch black sclera. _

_ Fearing for the boy, he rushed forward, but there was a sudden flash of metal. The woman stumbled backward, and the boy glanced up. His golden eyes narrowed to slits. _

_ “...I just wanted to buy a game,” Sousuke heard him mutter. Then, he leapt forward with surprising agility and stabbed her again. The ghoul didn’t even have time to unleash her kagune before she died.  _

_ The blond withdrew the twin daggers, huffing. “Too much effort.” _

_ Sousuke shook his head to dispel his shock and hurried forward, flashing his CCG ID and briefcase so the other wouldn’t be alarmed. He quickly helped the boy yank the body away before it was noticed. As they took refuge behind a nearby building, he blinked at the unlikely killer. _

_ He was fidgeting and glancing away like he’d rather be anywhere else. Awkwardly, the black haired boy said, _

_ “So… are you part of the CCG?” _

_ The blond looked at him like he was utterly stupid. “No. I carry around Q Daggers for no discernable reason. In fact, I found them in the trash and decided to take them for a spin just the other day.”  _

_ The dry sarcasm, coming in such a soft tone, threw Sousuke for a loop. He gaped helplessly for a minute before the silence was broken by clapping. Turning, he noticed another boy was walking toward them, a rakish grin on his face. _

_ “My, my, Kenma, you’re in a bad mood. What’s ticked you off?” _

_ Kenma motioned toward the ghoul. “...she interrupted me when I was going to buy the new Soul Strike game. And now there’s blood on my sweater.” _

_ “Don’t worry, I’ll get you a copy tonight! You’ll need bleach for the sweater, though.”  _

_ Kenma snorted, eyes trained firmly on the ground. _

_ The new arrival suddenly addressed Sousuke. “So, I’m assuming you’re the guy on the Animals’ case? From the main office?" _ _   
_

_ “Yes,” Sousuke stammered, unsure how to act around this unknown boy. “Are you Kuroo Tetsurou-san?” _

_ He grinned again, all sharp teeth and piercing eyes. “Indeed I am. Pleasure to meet you, Yamazaki. I’ll escort you to our office.” _

_ Sousuke followed Kuroo and Kenma to their workplace, half-heartedly listening as Kuroo chattered and Kenma placed a phone call to the clean-up team. He’d barely been here twenty minutes, and he could already tell the pair were dangerous. Why weren’t they on the Animals’ case? _

_ The office, only a few blocks away, was plain and inconspicuous. Kuroo flopped into a chair and smiled lazily, waiting for Sousuke to take the seat across from him. Kenma’s nose twitched as he perched on the edge of the desk, tapping away at his phone. The teal eyed man felt inexplicably intimidated. The duo reminded him of cats, both with slitted gold eyes that always seemed calculating. _

_ Sousuke felt like a baby bird being stalked by a fully grown wildcat. _

_ “Now, let’s get down to business, Yamazaki. We happened to get your information from another ghoul we were interrogating. Apparently, the Animals are very frequently seen in a certain area, and they have- or at least had- a clockwork like patrol of it. They also went out to feed at specific times- Kenma, can you get that folder?” _

_ Not even bothering to look up from his game, the blond got up and rooted around in a cabinet one-handed. He returned with a slim file and set it in front of Kuroo before plopping back on the desk. _

_ “You’re going to develop back problems and become all hunched if you keep sitting like that,” the investigator mused. “And you’re short enough already.” _

_ “Shouyou is shorter,” was the only response. The taller boy snickered. _

_ “Anyway, leaving Shrimpy aside, that info’s all in there. We think the meticulous pattern was probably the Butterfly’s influence, just due to how he acts. You have descriptions and an informant collecting for you already, right? That should be just enough to give you an edge,” Kuroo continued. _

_ “Thank you,” Sousuke said sincerely, scanning the file. “This is incredibly valuable. I can’t express enough gratitude to you for compiling it.” _

_ “It’s not me you should be thanking. It’s Kenma. After all, he’s the brain of this operation. The rest of the office is just the oxygenated blood that feeds him.” _

_ Kenma groaned, and Sousuke saw his face reddening. “Please stop with that metaphor. It gets weirder every time you say it.” _

_ “Never,” Kuroo teased. _

_ Sousuke was about to stand and bow when a loud crash issued from the other room. Two voices could be heard yelling, one much more angrily than the other. Bewildered, he looked to the others for an explanation, but none came. _

_ Kenma paled. “It’s Lev. Kuro, hide me.” _

_ “Aw, but Kenma, he loves you! How could I deprive him of seeing your cute face-” _

_ The blond grabbed his shirt and hissed, “Hide. Me. Now.” _

_ “I’m going to leave,” Sousuke decided quickly. “Thanks again, Kuroo-san.” _

_ “I’m always this kind,” Kuroo intoned, moving to let Kenma scramble under his desk. The teal eyed man watched in shock as Kenma curled up on the ground and Kuroo stepped in front of him to shield his body. “Do say hi to Tooru for me, please.” _

_ Sousuke left the office to the sounds of a murderous brunet boy threatening a Russian and Kuroo’s wild laughter. _

He escaped the memory and glared at the group, eyes mainly focused on Rin and Gou.  _ Wine _ red hair. Siblings. This particular area, which had a coffee shop nearby, where he had almost died...

Sousuke’s eyes narrowed. “Quick question: why would you care about finding a human…”

“Animals?”

 

* * *

 

Miles away, Haru awoke in panic. He was in a dark room crowded with other people, and his hands were bound behind his back.

_ Where am I? What’s happening? _

In front of him stood a ghoul, whose outline he could barely discern in the faint bit of light seeping underneath the doorway. A kagune twitched lazily behind him. Seemingly noticing that he was awake, he leered at Haru, who gasped and flailed in an attempt to get away. 

The others around him were caught in various stages of shuddering, crying, and fearful whimpering, mirroring his own feelings.

The ghoul chuckled darkly. “Don’t bother struggling, humans. You’re for sale. Can’t have you damaging the goods.”

Haru felt as helpless as he did in the alley with the ghoul. But this time, there was no Rin to save him.

Icy terror slipped down his spine.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter ruined me, honestly. I have finals to study for, but I am Not Doing That in favor of This, which will probably kick me in the ass tomorrow. I urge you to pray for me in these trying times. *bows*
> 
> The Kuroo, Kenma, Lev, and "murderous brunet" (yes, that's Yaku!) mentioned here are from Haikyuu!!, and they're from the Tokyo team called Nekoma (hence the cat references). The "brain and blood" metaphor is literally something Kuroo says in reference to Kenma, in an effort to make him feel included. The "Shouyou" Kenma mentioned is the orange haired fluffball who was part of the group insulting the Quinx way back when (AKA Hinata of Karasuno). God, there's three whole HQ!! teams in this now... I hate myself. 
> 
> This lets y'all know that Kenma was _not_ the florist Makoto bought flowers from, although some people thought he was ^^ also, his use of the name "Kuro" instead of "Kuroo" is not a typo, but rather his nickname for his boyfr- sorry, _friend_.
> 
> I will now shut up about my cat sons to tell you that the chapter title is brought to you by VIXX's Voodoo Doll.
> 
> Next chapter is the Auction Raid part of TG: Re, although it's quite obviously going to be different with my boys involved, lol. See you then~


	28. give me your hands

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> * looks at date * Yikes.
> 
> So, this took a while because I was trying to finish part two, but I decided you guys deserved something for your patience! The next part will be much longer and actually action filled. This is just more planning...
> 
> Thank you for 441 kudos and your endless kindness! There will be one more chapter and an epilogue to wrap things up.

_ Sousuke’s eyes narrowed. “Quick question: why would you care about finding a human…” _

_ “Animals?” _

 

* * *

 

For a moment, there was silence. Sousuke began to wonder if he had calculated wrong after all, but then Rin’s eyes darkened. He shoved Sousuke down on the couch with an errant hand, and Rei grabbed Makoto by the arm. The green eyed boy yelped in shock.

“Let him go!” The inspector snapped immediately. “He has nothing to do with this!”

“He’s close to Haru,” Rin mused. When his lips parted for a sigh, Sousuke saw the glint of razor-sharp teeth. “That means he’s already involved. But we’re not interested in hurting either of you, so calm down.”

Next to him, Makoto was anything but calm. In fact, he was yelling at Nagisa. “How long have you known?! You don’t look surprised at all!”

“I just found out today, Mako-chan! I couldn’t be trying to hide it if I only knew like, an hour ago!” The blond answered. With his face set in determination like that, the inspector suddenly recognized him.

“Wait. You’re the one I had to rescue from the Butterfly, aren’t you? I told you to run away, and then I went into the sewers, and… um.”

“Nearly died,” Rin supplied helpfully.

“Wow, Rei. You almost killed  _ two _ people in this room. Aren’t you going places?” Gou said slyly. 

The ukaku groaned. “It wasn’t like I planned it that way, I assure you-”

“It was  _ unplanned? _ You slammed me against a wall! Multiple times! I ended up in the hospital!” Sousuke cried.

“You were hunting us!” Rei defended. “Of course I was going to attack you!”

“Then why were you after him?” Sousuke grumbled, jerking his head toward Nagisa. The blond tittered.

“He doesn’t have a solid excuse for that, I’m sure. Don’t worry! I already forgave him!”

Makoto looked like he would rather be anywhere else other than here, but he steeled himself and snapped, “What’s wrong with all of you? You’re talking about attacking and killing each other like it’s nothing! And meanwhile, my best friend could be dying alone without us even knowing!”

The atmosphere sobered instantly. The people assembled exchanged contrite glances, and Rin spoke quietly.

“That’s how life is for ghouls and CCG inspectors. People die more frequently than you’d ever imagine, on both sides of the battlefield. There’s a reason we don’t have live as long as regular humans, even though the expectancy in Japan is among the highest in the world.”

The paperboy gritted his teeth. “Then would all of you shut the hell up and stop Haru from becoming a casualty too?! So you’re ghouls- whatever. We don’t have time to dwell on that. Who has Haru, and how are we supposed to get him back home?”

Rin smiled then, as if he had suddenly realized exactly what kind of person Makoto was. “We don’t know exactly who did it, but since it’s similar to other crimes, that means it was on behalf of the ghoul codenamed Nutcracker. She quite frequently steals humans to sell them in auction. The buyers are high class ghouls who pay millions of yen for the ‘merchandise.’”

Makoto clicked his tongue. “So you’re saying she treats humans like goods? That’s horrible!”

“It is, but she’s… she’s done worse to men,” Sousuke muttered awkwardly. “Anyway, what’s your plan?”

“Since Rei’s family has a lot of money, we think if we sneak in, we can buy Haru back at the next auction,” Rin replied.

Sousuke shook his head. “There’s a glaring problem with that. Two, actually, if you count your lack of information.”

“Eh? What do you mean?”

The teal eyed boy met Rin’s gaze solemnly. “If you guys go to the next auction as buyers, you’ll  probably all be killed.”

 

* * *

 

Rin stared at Sousuke following the bold declaration. Beside him, Rei glared. 

“What do you mean, ‘we’ll be killed?’ We’re not fledgling ghouls; we can stand on equal ground with the gourmets.”

The inspector shook his head again, looking pensive. “No, it’s not that I don’t believe in your strength. I’ve seen it first hand, after all. Actually,” he trailed off, “ _ this _ is why I should be here. You wouldn’t have known otherwise.”

“Know what?” Gou prompted.

“The CCG has been tracking the Nutcracker for a while, and at the auction- which is  _ tonight _ , by the way- there’s going to be a ‘mopping up’ operation. The Suzuya Squad is leading it, flanked by Sasaki Haise and the Quinx. Several other squads are following their lead.” 

“Tonight? Shit, Rin, Rei, we can’t get that money so quickly!” Gou cried. The older boys exchanged worried glances at the news.

“So what do we do now? Wait for Haru-chan to be rescued by the CCG?” Nagisa asked.

Sousuke bit his lip. “Well, it would be simple, since they  _ have _ already begun their infiltration. As we speak, one of the Quinx and Suzuya himself are playing helpless human captives in the auction hall, and lord knows they’re armed to the teeth with Q-Knives. But I don’t think it would hurt if you guys came and got him personally. I guess it’d give you peace of mind, anyway.”

“Okay, so we sneak in at the same time as the inspectors,” Rei decided. “Is there any other squad you can tell us about? We need to know what we’re up against, because those people are gonna try killing us too.”

“There’s the Seijou Squad, led by Oikawa Tooru. That’s a group of four. For the love of God, avoid Oikawa.”

“Why? Is he really dangerous?”

“No, he’s just a dick,” Sousuke said flatly. “And annoying as hell. But, well... he is pretty perceptive. Knows everyone’s weaknesses ‘cuz he’s a manipulative bastard.”

“Cool, cool, avoid an Oikawa,” Rin said, waving his hand in a “hurry up” motion. “Who else is there?”

“I think they’re calling in Nekoma from the 3rd Ward. Also four members, led by Kuroo Tetsurou, but when I went to speak with them- about you guys, no less- Kuroo said one of their other members is the ‘brain’ of the operation. So watch out for a tiny blond.

“The last inspectors I know are Mikoshiba and Kisumi from my squad, who are going to be on standby. If you want me to come with you, though, I can easily convince Kisumi to swap places with me. I know he’d rather be out drinking, anyway.”

“That seems like a small amount of people for a fight this big,” Rei mused. “There have to be others.”

“Of course there are. Didn’t you hear me say I didn’t know everyone? Here, let me ask Mikoshiba who else is coming.” 

Sousuke texted his superior, and a reply came a minute later. He turned the screen of his phone toward them so they could read it.

**Commander: Matsuri Washuu**

**Front assault: Atou Squad, Quinx (Mutsuki Tooru: detached, infiltrating), Ooshiba Squad, Suzuya Squad (Suzuya Juuzou: detached, infiltrating)**

**White Suits Combat: Mado Squad, Tateshima Squad, Isai Squad, Seijou Squad**

**Sealing of Escape Routes: Nekoma Squad, Shibashi Squad, Hiroko Squad**

**Reinforcements: Arima Squad, S3 Squad, assorted members authorized for combat**

“We’re in the ‘assorted members’ part, I suppose,” Sousuke sighed. “Alright. I’ll sneak in with another squad and then find an ‘escape route’ before Nekoma or the others seal it. Then you guys can get in and find Haru. Good enough?”

The ghouls murmured in agreement, but Rei looked at Sousuke skeptically.

“Why are you helping us so readily? I feel as if you want us to die, somehow. What if you're leading us into a trap?”

The inspector shrugged. “I won’t lie; I wouldn’t be too broken up if you all were killed. As far as I’m concerned, your kind are scum of the earth, and I’d probably take the opportunity to get rid of you myself if I had it. But this is Makoto's best friend we're talking about. I want him to be safe as well.”

Rin nodded. He hated hearing that, but it wasn’t like he didn’t understand. “Fine. I’ll make a deal with you, Yamazaki. If we prove ourselves to not be ‘scum of the earth’ while we’re saving Haru, then you’ll leave us be.”

Sousuke’s mouth twisted, but he inclined his head in agreement.

“For what it’s worth, we were likely destined to hate each other,” the rinkaku sniffed. “Now, let’s go save Haru.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sousuke's hatred of Oikawa? Iconic, tbh. 
> 
> The info about the Auction Mopping Up Operation (as in all those squads) is directly from the TG Wiki, save for, of course, Nekoma and Seijou's involvment.
> 
> I can't believe this is almost over, holy shit... It's been so long.
> 
> Anyway, big thing to mention. See that character death tag? Yeah, watch it. I wasn't fucking around. >:) I am a being of angst.
> 
> Chapter title again from BTS's Save Me. It refers to both shaking hands (like the agreement between Sousuke and Rin) and Haru wanting to be saved. That was me trying to be clever ;;


	29. acute

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The auction raid goes down, and so does one of our narrators.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, hello.
> 
> I know it's been, like, 87 years. I don't have too much of an excuse, although I am sorry.
> 
> *sighs* I'm nervous for this; it's the penultimate chapter. Lots of stuff happens, lots of narration switches, etc. I hope those of you still here like it? Even though it's late and unbeta'd?
> 
> Oh, uh, quick note- Haru accidentally misgenders Juuzou and Mutsuki, who are both dressed as girls (something that did indeed happen in the TG manga). It is not intended maliciously, but I figured I should warn you.
> 
> Without further ado, here's that second to last chapter!
> 
> Keep in mind there is that character death I mentioned!

The ghouls met on a rooftop near the auction hall, hidden from the view of everyone else. Below them, they could see CCG members milling about, all clad in white uniforms and carrying briefcases.

“Nitori’s worrying,” Gou said softly. Rin turned to her and watched as she played with her phone. “Are you sure it was a good idea to leave him behind?”

“You know Nitori’s never been the best fighter. Besides, someone needs to watch over Makoto and Nagisa. They’re camping out in Makoto’s apartment while we try to find Haru.”

“And he doesn’t want to be near Mikoshiba Seijurou, I assume,” Rei pointed out. “Not if there’s a chance he could be recognized.”

“One of these days, the kid’s gonna have to tell  _ all _ the Mikoshibas what he is,” the rinkaku sighed. “Whatever. Let’s just wait for the signal; I’m ready to bust some heads.”

 

* * *

Inside the hall, Haru was nervously chewing on his lip. He and the other prisoners could tell something big was happening above them; there had been movement and commotion for a good half an hour now. It had put them all on edge. Two girls hadn’t stopped crying for ten minutes, and another one with green hair was mumbling desperately to herself, ignorant to the consolation of her black haired friend.

The tension in the room worsened when the ghoul from before, who had left earlier, strode back in. Without a word, he walked to the green haired girl and grabbed her by the arm. She squeaked in fear as she was torn from her friend, who looked massively affronted by the action.

“Oh, don’t worry your pretty little heads,” he sneered, “you’ll  _ all  _ be sold soon enough.”

Haru flinched when his captor’s eyes landed on him. 

“Oi, Scar. Get that one better clothes- no one will buy it otherwise.”

The swimmer didn’t have time to yelp before another ghoul was yanking him out of the room and into the light of the hallway. It was so bright that it stung his eyes, but he wasn’t allowed to acclimate before “Scar” was dragging him off again. 

Haru found himself pushed into a small room filled with miscellaneous items. Scar stepped in after him and dug through the a box, apparently very irritated with his duty. After a few minutes of rummaging, he emerged with a black suit and cheap white button-up shirt.

“They can sell you with that gothic girl,” he muttered to himself, appraising. “Change into this, or I take off your head and serve it as a snack.”

Fearfully, Haru complied. His workout clothes were unceremoniously tossed into the box the suit was from, and Scar pushed him back to the room full of captives. In front of the door was a ghoul with a clown mask, who had the black haired girl. 

Dimly, the artist noted she looked like a doll, with red eyes and porcelain skin.

The pair of them were ushered onto a wide stage, with lights that blinded Haru. However, they didn’t obscure his vision to the point that he couldn’t see the crowds of hungry ghouls in stands both in front of them and hovering above them. He flinched. There were so many.

“Don’t worry,” the girl said quietly, so much so that a ghoul wouldn’t have been able to hear it.

Haru stared at her with a hopeless expression. What could she possibly mean by that? He had every reason to worry, and so did she.

If he had anything to say, it was interrupted by a female ghoul sashaying onto the stage. Just by her presence and confident stance, Haru could tell she was the boss of this whole operation. Posing in her lingerie-like outfit, the ghoul called out to the crowd,   
  
“And here, ladies and gentlemen, is a real treat. Two black haired beauties for the price of one! Bidding begins at fifteen million yen!”

The woman promptly left the room, presumably to get other “merchandise.” 

Undeterred by her lack of presence, signs in the crowd shot up one after the other. Haru thought that if he squinted, he could even see an argument break out in the front rows. The bidding rose higher and higher, and when it started leveling off, the swimmer knew it was time for them to be sold.

The girl had other plans.

“There’s no need for that,” she said darkly. She slammed her foot onto the ground, and her leg opened up, skin peeling back like flower petals. Quick as a flash, she whipped out a bevy of knives from a hidden compartment and jammed four into the face of the nearest ghoul.

Haru had the presence of mind to duck as she threw two of the blades, and they soared past him to cut down another ghoul. He couldn’t do much but cower on the wooden stage as pandemonium erupted in the crowd, the ghouls in the front row yelling.

As they trampled others in their haste to get away, all hell broke loose in the auction house.

 

* * *

The signal flashed, rippling throughout the crowd of CCG members below them. Rin waved to his team and they dropped to the hall’s roof, gunning for the access point that had been pointed out for them.

“We split up,” he directed. “Take care of yourselves, okay?”   
  
They nodded and scattered. Rin picked a path at random and flew, hurriedly knocking an unprepared CCG member out. He burst into a more populated area of the hall and began to weave through throngs of ghouls.

It became evident very, very quickly that the gourmets really did have no idea this was coming.

Rin ducked under a flailing bikaku’s tail and danced around a sharp ukaku. He’d come here for only one reason, and he’d be damned if he didn’t get there. A CCG inspector slashed at him as he passed and he slammed her into a wall.

_ Think, Rin, think. Where would he be? A room full of captives would be hidden, right? So is it in the basement of this place? _

He burst into a wide auditorium. A few CCG members were tearing through the ghouls who’d been too stupid to escape, and one of them paused to throw a case to an operative waiting on the stage. It transformed into a wicked violet-bladed Quinque, and they darted away with it in their hand, screaming something about their “Mama.” The CCG operaters took their leave as well, leaving the large room eerily empty.

One figure was left on the stage, clad in a cheap suit and looking completely lost. Rin knew before he even saw his features that it was Haru, and he bolted. 

 

* * *

Sousuke wished he weren’t so distracted at the moment.

Not only was he thinking about Makoto (who was no doubt frantic with worry), but his mind was preoccupied with the Animals he’d brought here. If any of his superiors found out what he’d done, he’d probably be thrown to the prisoners in Cochlea.

He absentmindedly took out a ghoul with a quick stab of his broadsword, hoping that the ghouls would find Haru and leave without fuss.  _ But that’s probably too much to ask- oh, shit! _

A harpoon whistled over his head and impaled the ghoul who had been sneaking up on him. The motion startled Sousuke back into awareness, and he threw himself back into fighting. While spinning around, he caught a glimpse of his savior.

Oikawa Tooru neatly ducked under a green kagune and threw another of his harpoons. This one took down two ghouls in the duration of its flight path. Sousuke grimaced at the ensuing explosion of gore, suddenly and rudely reminded that for all his pomp, Oikawa was a damn good fighter.

“Distracted, are we?” The brunet chirped, taking a position at Sousuke’s back. “I hope you know it’s not the time for daydreaming!”

“Forgive me for worrying about the man I’m in love with,” he retorted. “I’ve seen you do the same around the office, when your boy takes off without you.”

Oikawa burst into peals of laughter, flinging his Quinque straight through a Gourmet’s eye. “I’ve never been worried about Iwa-chan a day in my life! He can take care of himself, you know.”

“Oh, I’m sure,” Sousuke replied. He’d meant for it to sound sarcastic, but it came out with the measure of respect most everyone at the office had for Iwaizumi Hajime.

The hallway cleared not long after his statement, and Oikawa bustled around, gathering all his flung harpoons. He straightened and shot Sousuke a wink. “I hope you start watching your back. You’re no good to anyone if you’re lost in your own head.”   
  
“Fuck off, Oikawa,” Sousuke said, but it sounded a lot like a  _ thank you _ .

 

* * *

Rin leapt onto the stage without preamble, shouting Haru’s name. The artist turned to him, wide eyed.    
  
“Rin?” he asked hopefully.

“Yeah, I’m here,” he hastened to answer. His sharp eyes flickered over Haru, searching for injuries. If Rin spotted any, he was going to rip everyone in this damn place apart, CCG be damned.

“Rin-”

“It’s okay, we came to get you,” the redhead babbled, not noticing the sudden panic on Haru’s face.

“Rin, LOOK OUT!”

It was that cry which forced the rinkaku into action. He blindly ducked, barely avoiding a spider-like koukaku that had been aiming to behead him. Haru flattened himself against the stage, and the weapon’s momentum sent it plowing straight through the wood.

Rin whipped around and paled. The Nutcracker stood before him, practically vibrating with fury. Her koukaku branched out over her shoulders, and to his horror, a bikaku tail lashed behind her too.

“You’re a Chimera,” he said in shock. 

In all his years, Rin had never once seen a Chimera, a rare breed of ghoul that had two kakuhou. Sure, there was a possibility that he or Gou could’ve ended up being one, seeing as their parents had different kagunes, but they’d always seemed like a myth.

The Nutcracker didn’t respond to that. Instead, she snarled, “Stay away from what’s mine!”

Rin forgot all about his shock to spit back, “He isn’t yours! None of those humans are yours!”

“Yes, they are,” she roared, sending her kagune at him. “You’re losing me money!”

Cursing, the Shark darted away from the tail and blocked one piercing koukaku with two of his ribbon-like kagune. He used his third and fourth tendrils to strike like a pincer; one was blocked by the second koukaku, and the other ripped her side open.

“See, that’s why you should invest in clothes,” he taunted, using the strength in his kagune to fling her halfway across the stage. 

She bared her black teeth at him, one hand covering the sluggishly bleeding wound. He smirked.

That cockiness came back to bite him when she turned to attack Haru- who for some goddamned reason hadn’t moved out of the way. Rin intercepted the spider legs, wrapping a tendril around them and yanking her off balance, but she pulled herself free by attaching her tail to the ceiling and vaulting up.

“Haru, run! The others are in here somewhere- Sousuke, too- so go find them!”

He didn’t wait to see if the artist had complied with his demand, instead tossing himself back into the fight with single-minded determination.

 

* * *

Sousuke wished then, during his final moments, that he had listened to Oikawa when he’d said to be more aware of his surroundings.

It normally wouldn’t have been such a problem. Normally, his team would have been around him in all their fierce glory, picking up his slack whenever he needed a moment. But right now, his team wasn’t there, and neither was a saving grace like the brunet instructor.

Thus, when his attention wavered, he was pierced through the stomach.

For a moment, the teal eyed boy wasn’t aware of what happened, much less of the pain. He stared at the pulsing blue kagune stuck in his abdomen with a detached gaze. Then terror hit him, and with it, pulsing agony.

The kagune- a rinkaku, just like Rin’s, he thought- withdrew, prompting his body to gush blood. Sousuke collapsed then, likely because his spine had also been severed. His breath came in short, shallow gasps. 

_ I’m going to die _ , he realized. And just after he’d promised to come back to someone, too…    


The ghoul seemed to have no regard for Sousuke’s panic (and of course; why would it?). It crept closer, hunger written all over its face. He made an honest attempt to back away, but his body wouldn’t respond.

His death may have come with the jaws of a beast if it wasn’t for a golden flash.

Said yellow blur came from seemingly nowhere, and it decapitated the ghoul in a single, swift motion. The ghoul fell apart in two pieces, revealing the person who had completed the mission.

Kozume Kenma stood over its body, two bloody blades in his hands. He blinked down at the floor impassively, and then his gaze slid over to Sousuke. Those cat-like eyes widened in recognition.

“Kozume… come here,” Sousuke rasped. The inspector obeyed, heedless of the gore that stained his clothes when he knelt beside the black haired man’s body.

“You know you only spared me the injustice of being eaten, right? I’m still… going to die,” he whispered.

Kenma nodded solemnly. After all, he was only stating the obvious. “I’m sorry I didn’t come sooner.”

“It’s my fault, not yours,” Sousuke said. “Please do something for me.”

“Of course,” the blond answered. “Anything you need.”

It took Sousuke a few tries to speak again, and his next words were hushed. “Find a man named Tachibana Makoto. Tell him I’m gone, and tell him I’m sorry.”

“I will,” Kozume said. He sounded sadder than Sousuke thought he should be, considering they barely knew each other. “Rest now, Yamazaki-san. May you find something better in the next life.”

Sousuke closed his eyes for the last time with Makoto’s face in his mind.

 

* * *

Haru was supposed to be rushing out of the auditorium as fast as he could. Instead, he’d hid in the upturned rows of seats while Rin fought the Nutcracker.

This battle was entirely different than the one in the alley. The Nutcracker, for one, was able to fight back. It was messy, ugly, and violent. Haru flinched when he watched Rin get slammed into the stage, and winced when he retaliated by nearly ripping the Nutcracker’s leg off.

He’d never felt more useless than he did now, watching someone he cared about get hurt. But what could he do? He could only worry and wait for the…

The others. Rin had said he should find the others. Haru shuddered. Of course it wasn’t just his boyfriend; all his new friends were ghouls. He should’ve seen it coming.

But. There was a ‘but’ there, because they had never done anything to him. They’d come here to help him. This whole time, Rin had been looking out for him, had come to save him. He was fighting the Nutcracker now in order to spare Haru’s lackluster life. How could he have doubted Rin’s feelings, or his coworkers’ friendship?

_ I have to help him somehow, _ Haru thought.  _ I have to, it’s only fair. _

He started looking for a makeshift weapon, and found one in an extremely sharp piece of shattered wood. It wouldn’t be able to pierce through a ghoul’s skin- only a kagune or Quinque could do that- but if aimed well enough, it would do as a nice distraction.

When the Nutcracker’s kagune shifted, it offered Haru an opening. He pinched the wood between two fingers and threw it like a knife. To his shock and relief, his aim was true; the wood caught her in the eye. She snarled and shook it out of her way.

However, she wasn’t quick enough in returning her attention to the fight. Rin took advantage of her moment of distraction and stabbed forward with all of his rinkaku. They punched through her chest.

The Nutcracker coughed, blood spilling out of her mouth. She fell backward as if in slow motion and landed with a muted thud on the stage.

From the seats, Haru heard her wheeze out, “I just… wanted… more money.”   


Silence reigned for a moment as Rin jerked back, obviously not expecting those to be her last words. Then he shook his head and called to Haru, “Are you okay?”

“Fine,” Haru replied. “You?”   
  
“As well as I can be,” Rin said, glancing at the body. He winced, pressing a hand to one of his wounds, and opened his mouth to say something else. Instead of continuing the conversation, he gave up and focused on breathing.

Haru frowned, intending to ask if he really was alright, when a man with black hair that faded into white strode into the auditorium. He didn’t make a sound, so it was more than a bit surprising when the man’s attention immediately drifted to the artist rather than the still panting Rin. 

Rin looked up and caught sight of the newcomer. His eyes widened under his mask, and he darted away, leaving the body of the Nutcracker behind. The white haired man- a CCG inspector, Haru assumed- didn’t bother giving chase. Instead, he said into the air, “Urie, Saiko, I think I just saw the Shark. Would you mind going after him for me? I have a civilian to tend to. Oh, and see if Shirazu got Mutsuki to safety.”   
  
“You got it, Maman,” a staticky voice answered.

Haru stood, brushing dust off his suit. He felt worn out despite barely lifting a finger in that fight, and followed the inspector out of the hall with little fuss. He knew Rin would get away. It was just a question of whether or not he would see him again.

 

* * *

In the soft light of dawn, a knock came at his door.

Makoto jolted up, eyes wild. Nagisa started beside him and nearly fell off the couch.

“Is it Rin-chan or Nitori-san?” He asked softly, nudging Makoto. “Did they find Haru?”

“I don’t know,” the brunet replied. He walked to the door and opened it, praying for the best news.

It was not Rin. It was not Gou, or Rei, or Nitori. For that matter, it was no one he knew. No, the person before Makoto was a short boy with terribly dyed hair, dressed in the white CCG uniform. He looked completely exhausted.

“Tachibana Makoto-san?” the blond asked dully. His voice was so quiet that Makoto almost missed hearing it at all.

“Um, yes? Who are you?” 

The blond met his eyes. “I am Associate Special Class Kozume Kenma from Minato-ku. I am here to regretfully inform you…”

A buzzing started up in Makoto’s ears. The awful feeling of dread that had plagued him since the others had left last night surged up again as Kozume kept talking.

“...that First Class Yamazaki Sousuke died in combat last night, during the auction raid.”

Makoto stopped breathing for a moment, nearly choking on air. “No- no, he promised me he would come back!”

The inspector’s impassive face wavered. “Promises matter little in the face of ghouls, Tachibana-san. I have learned that it is best not to trust them.”

Makoto dropped to his knees. Tears blurred his vision, and his heart twisted in his chest. He dimly registered Nagisa running toward them and confronting the messenger.

“What- who the hell are you? What did you do to him?” The rose eyed boy cried. 

Kozume blinked slowly, much like a cat. Then he sighed, face becoming more soft and vulnerable. He crouched next to Makoto.

“I told Kuro I was no good at talking to civilians… but he said it had to be me,” he murmured, ignoring Nagisa entirely. “Tachibana-san, Yamazaki told me that he was sorry, and that he wished he had more time with you. He loved you, okay? Please never forget that.”

Makoto only cried harder, burying his face in his hands. On some level, he understood perfectly well what Kozume was saying. But he could only replay Sousuke’s last words to him as if he were still there.

_ “We’re going to make it through this, okay? Stay safe. I’ll be back before you know it, Makoto.” _

Nagisa pieced together what happened. His face crumpled, and he glared at Kozume. Seeing Makoto hurt infuriated him. “At least give him some goddamn good news, pudding head. Is Haru-chan okay?”

“I’m an investigator, not a file folder of dead loved ones-  I don’t know who that is,” the golden eyed boy answered, completely ignoring the slight to his hair. “We didn’t lose nearly as many human victims as anticipated, thanks to the surprise intervention of the Animals. Perhaps your ‘Haru’ was among those saved.”

At the words “dead loved ones,” Makoto’s breathing hitched sharply. Nagisa tightened his grip, trying to hold himself back so he wouldn’t punch Kozume. How callous could he be?

“Why are you even here?” he spat weakly. “The CCG isn’t in the habit of personally consoling their collateral damage, I know that much.”

Kozume stood, fingers twisting in his too-long sleeves. He pressed his lips together, looking like he didn’t want to say anything, but he finally admitted, “Perhaps I wasn’t clear earlier. I was there when FC Yamazaki died. He told me to find Tachibana-san.”

Upon hearing this, Makoto lifted his head and glowered fiercely at the smaller boy. “If you were there, why didn’t you stop it? Why didn’t you help him?!” His voice pitched upward, reaching the territory of a scream.

With wide eyes, the blond took several steps back. “I didn’t- I wasn’t there when the ghoul injured him! The best I could do was… stop it from eating his body…” His composure broken, Kozume suddenly motioned at someone who had been waiting down the hallway.

A taller boy with a wild nest of dark hair slipped into the frame. He carried a box in his hands that had Sousuke’s name scribbled on it, which he offered to Nagisa. It was clearly a distraction. Smoothly, the other 3rd Ward officer interjected,

“Yamazaki-san has no next of kin. His parents have been dead for several years, so his belongings were divided amongst his squad and you, his boyfriend.”

Makoto looked at the box despairingly. It seemed too small to hold pieces of a person’s life.

“Also, I’d ask you to please refrain from shouting at Kenma,” the black haired boy continued, his golden eyes sharp. “I understand you’re looking for someone to blame, but that would be the ghoul who killed him, not the mailman.”

“Fine,” Nagisa retorted in Makoto’s stead.

The taller investigator sighed, as if he’d expected this. “Well, then. Tachibana- and you too, other Blondie- we have to go now. We apologize once again.”

He took Kozume under his arm and walked away. Nagisa noted that the smaller inspector was faintly shaking; maybe they had been too harsh with him. Before they were out of sight, the dark haired boy turned and looked back at Makoto, who was still curled up on the floor. 

His face showed more remorse than any other inspector’s would have. But of course, there was nothing he could do.

Nagisa gave Makoto one more moment of crying on the floor. Then he picked him up and led him back into the apartment, the box in tow. Once his friend had curled up under their blankets again, the blond whipped out his phone and called Rin.

_ Please, _ he thought as the phone rang.  _ Please have some good news. _

The call went to voicemail.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...don't hurt me?
> 
> Some quick notes:
> 
> Oikawa's Quinques are harpoons made from a large bikaku. I chose harpoons because if you've seen HQ, you know his talent is serving, and the motions of serving the volleyball are kind of similar to flinging harpoons (at least moreso than other weapons I could think of?).
> 
> Sousuke's death was always planned, I unfortunately must say. He had a good run though, right? Kenma finding him was the impromptu part- you've heard me rant before about how all these HQ charries were never supposed to be here.
> 
> In the real manga, Shirazu from the Quinx killed the Nutcracker. Her last words were somewhat similar to what she said to Rin, although not exactly, and they haunted him for a long time.
> 
> The ghouls being missing at the end relates to Haru's line "It was just a question of whether or not he would see him again." It will be explained in the epilogue.
> 
> The final chap should be up soon (and I do mean sooner than this one, don't fear). Thank you for your patience ;; you're all saints.


	30. spring day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The story draws to a close.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *throws confetti everywhere* WINTER HAS ENDED!!!
> 
> Here you go, my lovelies! The epilogue! And it didn't take like, a whole year this time!
> 
> Read on!
> 
> *the beginning of this operates under the premise that the events of the story took place autumn-winter. The timeline was always nebulous, because me-from-the-past didn't plan for SHIT. Suspend any disbelief, pretty please?
> 
> *title and ending script from BTS's "Spring Day"

March

It had been months since Haru had last seen Rin.

It wasn’t unexpected. Haru had known, somehow, that Rin wouldn’t want to stay. Leaving was the kind of stupidly noble thing people did when they wanted to protect others, even though it ended up hurting them instead. 

At first, he’d gone to Samezuka, clinging on to a little bit of hope. Maybe the others would have stayed. But the shop was boarded up, and a little sign was tacked to the door with Rei’s neat handwriting covering it.

_ This shop will not be reopening. Our apologies to our faithful patrons. — Samezuka staff. _

Haru had simply pressed his mouth into a thin line, unwilling to let any emotion show, and escaped back to his apartment. When he’d entered his bedroom, he found a note waiting on the bed.

It said:

 

Haru, 

 

I don’t think I’ll ever be able to tell you how sorry I am for everything. I put you in danger, whether it be from me or others of my kind, and that’s unforgivable.

I want you to know that I didn’t leave because I didn’t care for you, or because I thought of you only as food. I just didn’t want to hurt you anymore.

Live for me. For all of us. And don’t come looking for people you should be hiding from.

(For what it’s worth, I think I really could’ve loved you.)

 

—Rin

Haru had to stop himself from shredding the letter in a fit of rage. In lieu of that, he’d calmly folded it up and tucked it away before curling into his blankets. Had Makoto not been going through an even worse loss, he would have gone to cry on his or Nagisa’s shoulder. 

Instead, he hid the shaking of his shoulders and wavering of his impassive expression.

Eventually, the worst passed— Sousuke’s funeral came and went, and all three friends had time to grieve— so it was time for Haru to do something. He was tired of waiting for Rin to see sense and tired of trying to move on and  _ tired of seeing Nagisa perk up at seeing any tall man with glasses _ —

So Haru started searching for Rin.

 

* * *

Trawling through the 1st Ward may have been much less dangerous than in another Ward, but it was still ill advised. No CCG inspector would recommend it, that was certain. Haru had gotten Nagisa to steal him a Quinque, though, so he wasn’t completely unprotected.

He started his search at night, a blue and gold striped scarf wound around the lower half of his face to hide his identity and protect him from the cold. He sought out ghoul communities and asked them if they knew anything about where the Animals had gone. Some of them tried to attack him. Some actually managed to wound him.

Most of them, however, actually didn’t mind helping when he shared his situation. They promised they’d keep an eye out for Haru, and gave him whatever tidbits of information they dug up. It was through this that he ended up befriending several ghouls, including a rather dangerous one nicknamed Snowy Owl that he just  _ knew _ was on the CCG’s shit list.

(He couldn’t imagine why. Bokuto Koutarou was all sunshine, most of the time.)

People started talking about him in snatched little whispers. He was a wanderer, a rumor come to life. The police and the CCG both started searching for him, though Haru managed to stay one step ahead of them thanks to Nagisa and his new network of ghouls. Somehow in this time, the artist garnered the moniker “Free,” perhaps because his traveling didn’t seem to have any purpose. 

(Makoto joked that it was his love of swimming coming back to bite him.)

 

* * *

Now, it felt like an eternity had passed since the auction raid. Spring was coming fast, and Haru was no closer to finding Rin. In desperation, he wondered if he should start branching into other Wards. It would be incredibly dangerous, but Haru was willing to go to great lengths for Rin.

_ Even though I probably shouldn’t care this much _ , Haru thought, staring at the large map of Japan spread over his coffee table. Nagisa and Makoto were curled up on the couch next to him, quietly involved in their own discussion. He’d call them over to brainstorm, but it wasn’t going as well as he’d hoped.

Nagisa suddenly perked up. “Hey, Haru-chan, didn’t Rin-chan take you out on a super awesome date?”

“And you dragged Rei out on one,” Haru replied dryly. “What’s your point?”

“That place would have sentimental value to him,” Makoto said, obviously following Nagisa’s train of thought. “Try there. It's better than vaulting into Tokyo’s seedier areas, which means it’s better for the health of my  _ heart _ —”   
  
“It’s… it’s not on the map; I think it’s too small,” Haru stammered, looking at the paper. “It’s the town that famous skater came from. Near Fukuoka.” God, why couldn’t he remember the name? He remembered hot springs and flirting and finally, finally kissing Rin like he wanted, but not the  _ name? _ __   
  
“Hasetsu!” Nagisa crowed after a quick Google search. “Hometown of one Katsuki Yuuri, silver medalist at last year’s Grand Prix Finals!

“Let’s go,” Haru said. “First thing tomorrow. It’s a long train ride, but it’s worth it.”

Makoto and Nagisa nodded, packing up the map and the assorted snacks they’d been eating. They moved to leave with their faces set in determination.

Nagisa paused in the doorway to hug Haru. “Let’s bring our friends back home,” he whispered.

 

* * *

The six hour train ride felt like an eternity. Haru fiddled with his scarf enough to start unraveling the thread, which Makoto winced in sympathy at. Nagisa had been a ball of nervous chatter the whole time, and jumped from topic to topic mid-sentence in an attempt to distract himself.

When they entered the station, Haru had to keep himself from crying again. Somehow, the town looked exactly the same, save for the passage of the season. The posters of the skater still adorned every wall of the building, and the sea breeze still wrapped around him comfortingly. Nagisa blinked at the sky, apparently holding back tears of his own.

“It’s beautiful,” he said in response to Makoto’s wordless question.  _ I’ll be fine, _ he meant.

The group made their way to the inn, which hadn’t changed either. The owners beamed at them when they entered, and launched into their usual sales pitch. Haru excused himself as quickly as he could and ducked into the hallway leading to the hot springs area.

As he walked, he unraveled his scarf further. Gold thread spilled into his hand, and he shook it away absentmindedly.  _ What will I do if he isn’t here? What will I do if he  _ is?

Haru didn’t have time to figure it out. He stepped into the clouds of steam and saw Rin almost immediately. It couldn’t be anyone else; that wine red hair was too uncommon in Japan.

The ghoul’s back was turned to him, but he still reacted when Haru called his name. His eyes widened before closing in resignation.

“How did you know I would be here?” He sighed, watching as Haru came closer.

“It was Makoto and Nagisa who figured it out, really,” Haru replied, settling next to him despite being fully clothed. “They said you’d like to be somewhere with sentimental value.”

“What can I say? It’s romantic,” Rin said wryly. “Let me guess; you’re here to tell me that being together is worth the danger, or something?”   
  
“No,” Haru said, “I’m here to tell you you’re a  _ fucking _ idiot.”

Rin sputtered. “I’m sorry, what?”

Haru crossed his arms defiantly. “You just decided to disappear, and the only thing you left was a note that barely explained anything at all. What about talking to me? I might not be the best at communication,” he conceded, “but why couldn’t you give me that?”

“Fine,” Rin retorted. “I don’t think it’s smart for us to be together because being around me could get you killed. Is that enough explanation?”   
  
“Do you know how easy it is to kill a human? Oh, who am I kidding— of course you do. I could die walking down the street. Being friends with the other Samezuka workers and dating you isn’t going to change that for the worse.”

“What if I did something, huh?” Rin challenged. “I could snap one day, and then where would you be?”   
  
Haru’s expression softened. He should’ve realized that was something Rin would be afraid of too. “Well, I have a Quinque now, if that helps. Nagisa stole it from the CCG.”

“That sounds a little bit illegal.”

“Legality is something that doesn’t often occur to him,” Haru said, inclining one shoulder in an approximation of a shrug. “Besides, you’ve never hurt me. Only protected me.”

“I hate that I’m starting to agree with you,” Rin muttered. “It’s just because I’m selfish.”

“No,” Haru corrected. “It’s because you care about me. And I care about you too.”

Rin leaned against him, dampening his clothes. “I guess you might be right.”   
  
“You deserve to be happy,” the artist added. “Ghouls deserve happiness just as much as we do. I don’t care what the CCG says.”

That was the final straw. Rin sniffed, and when he looked up at Haru, there were tears in his eyes. “Maybe so.”

Haru slipped into the water and wrapped his arms around Rin. Warmth swirled around them both as they clung to each other, and cherry blossom petals soared through the air to meet them. 

_ We’ll be okay, _ Haru thought, pressing his face into the redhead’s shoulder.  _ It’s okay now. _

 

_ Cherry blossoms bloom again; _

_ Winter has ended. _

 

_ I miss you, I miss you. _

_ I miss you, I miss you. _

_ If I wait a little longer, _

_ If I stay up a few more nights, _

_ I’ll go see you, I’ll go see you. _

_ I’ll go pick you up, I’ll go pick you up. _

 

_ Past the end of this cold winter, _

_ Until the spring comes again, _

_ Until the flowers bloom again... _

_ Stay there a little longer, stay there. _

 

—END

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some notes before the Sappiness:
> 
> Yup, Bokuto and Yuuri cameos! Lov those sports anime!
> 
> Haru's "fucking idiot" line is the funniest thing I've ever written.
> 
> Haru's Quinque is a polesword, because I said so. Also, Splash Free throwback, with the scarf and all.
> 
> Yes, Haru jumped into a hot spring in clothes. It be like that sometimes.
> 
> (The spring they were in was the one where Yuuri saw Viktor for the first time, and when everyone else there noticed Rin and Haru about to have An Emotion, they all politely left).
> 
> Anyway.
> 
> I'm... I think I'm actually tearing up? This is the first fic I've ever finished, honestly. It's been a long ass ride (yes, just like NCT said!) and it's taken its sweet time, but it's finally over...
> 
> I want to thank you all for sticking with me this long. I know I haven't been the most consistent writer, but you stayed patient and kind. I don't think I ever got a comment harassing me to update- just gentle, encouraging words. You're the best readers I could have ever asked for. :')
> 
> Special thanks to my beta, Grey, too! I love you more than words can express.
> 
> A belated Happy Holidays and Happy New Year! (It's still 2017 in my time zone. When will this hell end.) Perhaps you will read more of my works in the coming year (if, you know, the courts don't murder Net Neutrality and I don't cannonball straight into hell)~
> 
> Bye, darlings!! Until we meet again! 
> 
> (Speaking of which, anyone want a series of oneshots depicting more HQ stuff in this world? Or just snippets from this verse! Fun things like Rei and Nagisa getting together, and Nitori admitting the truth about what he really likes to eat, and _Sousuke's funeral_ ~)

**Author's Note:**

> How was that? Trashy, I'll bet. Please provide feedback, scream at me, etc. Updates will literally be "whenever", sorry. ;A;
> 
> Bye, now~


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